Master of Nothingness
by Medrick1317
Summary: Naruto had little left after the orphanage was burned down. Then the mysterious man took him in as he saw potential, he said. But that was merely an excuse to turn Naruto into his personal lab rat for years. Naruto finally manages to escape and live a peaceful life but knew that his past will come back to haunt him. He would be proven right when the shinigami came for Rukia.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, everyone! Surprise! Surprise! I just recently celebrated my birthday and decided to do something special for it. It's a bit late, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless. Now this will be a Naruto/Bleach Crossover. Naruto will have the abilities of the members of Organization 13. And I mean both the original and the TRUE Organization of KH3. This story has been on mind for a while and I wanted to post it to see how you guys like it. **_

_**Now this will not hamper RDK or Neo Uzu as those will be the stories I will focus on the most. This and one other will be more of a side project to work on when I don't have a spark for RDK or Neo Uzu on a certain day. Now on with the story!**_

* * *

_** Escape from the imprisoned Hell**_

Naruto sits on his bed as he stares at the crescent moon on the night sky from his bedroom. Well, bedroom would be the wrong word to use in this situation. The white walls, single bed, chair and desk with a lamb weren't the things to describe the room of a child. Prison would be more appropriate.

As Naruto continues to look at the moon, he thinks back to how he got here. Naruto never knew about his parents. He was told that he was found at the doorsteps of the local orphanage before he was taken in. The only thing on his person when he was taken in was an orange blanket he was wrapped in with his name etched into it and a blue and white striped scarf.

Although, Naruto could recall a warm feeling enveloping his body. It was warm and comforting like a fireplace. He wondered if that was a memory of his parents, but how could remember something from when he was baby? Could it be some instinctual connection that allows him to recall the feeling?

But that wasn't the only thing he remembered. He could also remember several other feelings. One that felt very cold like winter. It felt like death itself had its grip on him. The second was hot. Not the warm comforting kind, but like a burning inferno. It felt like hate incarnate had been given physical form. That one terrified him as he recalled it, but he also felt the warm one trying to soothe his worries.

The last one was the oddest of them all. It was cold, but not like the other one. This one felt different. As it was an empty void that left him feeling nothing. However, the oddest part was that he did not feel any danger from it. In fact, he felt comforted, at peace in its presence.

Naruto never understood what these feelings meant, and even now he has no idea what any these feelings could exactly represent or belong to. Not like it would help him in his current situation.

He recalled his days in the orphanage were relatively peaceful, all things considered. He had a roof over his head, got at least three meals a day, and had people that worried about his well being. It was a decent lifestyle.

He had a small group of friends that he hung around with, although they would tease him about his birthmarks as they looked like whiskers. Although one of his friends would never tease him. Her name was Namine. She would always say his birthmarks made him look cute. That always got him to blush, but he always did appreciate her words.

There was one other thing that separated Naruto from the rest of the children. On several occasions, Naruto could be seen talking to himself. And not comments to himself, but actually have full-blown conversations. Many of the adults just assumed he created an imaginary friend and saw no reason to say anything. The other children thought something was off with him and tended to keep a distance from him. Even his friends, except Namine, thought he was kinda weird for this.

What they didn't know was that Naruto was not talking to himself. He had a special gift. He could feel, see, and communicate with departed spirits. Naruto first noticed his abilities when he was three. He was trying to talk to a spirit that was sulking near the playground of the orphanage.

The spirit was shocked that he could see him let alone talk to him. He then slowly explained to Naruto that he was a spirit and Naruto had a special power that allowed him to speak to spirits. Being any normal, three-year-old, Naruto was having difficulty processing everything but he was excited to hear that he was someone special.

Ever since then he talked to any spirits that wandered into the orphanage. Apparently, his presence attracted the spirits. However, he was not the only one who could see spirits. Namine would later reveal she could see spirits. Naruto was excited to have another person that he could talk to about spirits without looking crazy.

All was going well….. That was until the fire that consumed the entire orphanage. He doesn't know who or what started it, but he remembers vividly what it felt like to be trapped in that inferno. It was something that still haunts him to this day.

* * *

The fire covered the entire building as the temperature continued to rise to unbearable levels. Smoak covered the entire area and made it impossible to see a few feet ahead and the toxic smog could easily cause people to go into a coughing fit.

Naruto clutched his arm and leg in pain from the burns he received from the falling debris. He used his scarf as a makeshift bandage. Namine was clutching his other side as she sobbed at their desperate situation. The two had tried to escape from the inferno, but they got lost on their way and are now huddling in a corner with nothing protecting them.

"Naruto, I'm scared. What's going to happen to us?" Namine desperately asked. Naruto gritted his teeth in pain as looked at Namine with pained, but determined eyes. "I'll get us out. I don't know how, but I will."

That's when the two began to hear some cricking. The two children looked up to see the burning ceiling about to collapse.

"Namine go! I can't run like this! But you can at least get out of the way!" Naruto shouted. Namine shook her head vehemently. "NO! I won't leave you!"

"Namine, please I don't want you to get hurt!" Naruto pleaded, but Namine held on to him even tighter. "I REFUSE TO LEAVE YOU ALONE TO DIE HERE!" Namine cried again. She knew Naruto could not get out of the way due to the injuries to his arm and leg and she refused to leave him all alone!

Suddenly the roof began collapsing down on them. Namine held onto Naruto and closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Naruto glared at the falling down upon them.

'_No! I don't want Namine or myself to die here! I DON'T WANT US TO DIE! I…..WANT TO LIVE!_' Naruto shouted as his vision was covered in darkness and everything became silent.

The next thing Naruto knew was that he could breathe normally again. He slowly blinked his eyes as he realized he was staring at a cloudy night sky as rain poured down. He could hear sirens of the fireman and police not too far from him.

Naruto then heard behind the sirens and rain, he could hear someone sobbing. He turned to see Namine crying as she had her face in her hands as she did not notice he was awake. Naruto swallowed as he tried calling out.

"N….Na...Namine?" he weakly asked. Namine paused as she lifted her head to show her puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "Naruto?" she asked hesitantly. Naruto nodded. Namine quickly brought him into a tight hug. She quickly began crying again as she was so glad to see he was alright.

Naruto did his best to calm the girls worries as she continued to cry for several minutes. After some time, Namine was finally calmed down enough for Naruto to ask her something.

"Namine, what happened? How did we get here? How are we still alive?" he asked, but Namine sadly shook her head. "I don't know Naruto. All I remember was the debris coming down and then everything went black. When I opened my eyes again, we were here." she explained.

Naruto was completely stumped, how did they get out of there without any injuries? More importantly, what were they gonna do now that the orphanage was gone. Then the two children felt a presence behind them as a shadow appeared as it covered their small bodies.

The two children turned to see a man standing behind them. He was around average height with shaggy brunette hair. He wore a pair of glasses and his body was covered in a black cloak. The thing that was off to the children was his smile. It looked so artificial….so fake. It was like seeing a doll smiling. It felt plastered…...not genuine.

"Hmm. Two children that are spiritually aware, and at such a young age." The stranger mused as then looked at the remains of the orphanage as the fire began to go down. "And that power you used to get out of that burning building. How interesting."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "What power?"

The man raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Hmmm, you were not aware of what you did. Then perhaps it was triggered by your desire to survive." The man's smile grew slightly bigger. "You two have caught my interest."

Naruto moved his workable arm in front of Namine as she tried to hide behind his back. "W-W-Who are y-you?" a nervous Namine asked.

The man simply continued to smile as if their actions amused him to no end. "My name is Sosuke Aizen, and from this day forward, you two will be under my custody."

The two were enveloped in darkness once more.

* * *

For the next the three years, all Naruto knew was pain and suffering. The man called Aizen and his assistant, Szayel would continuously stab, poke, and rip his body apart. Day in and day out. It was pure utter hell for poor little Naruto.

One day, Naruto was once again strapped to the lab table, and he idly wondered what did Szayel have in store for him this time. He turned his head when he heard footsteps approaching him. From the shadows came, Szayel came out with that same arrogant smirk. What was different this time was that he was holding a sword in his hands.

"Evening, Naruto, how are you feeling? I hope my favorite project is doing well?" Szayel politely asked as Naruto scoffed. "You already know the answer to that."

"Yes, but a surgeon should give courtesy to his patient."

"Forgive me if I don't see it that way."

"Suit yourself." Szayel shrugged before lifting the sword in his hands up. "Now then can you tell me what this is?"

"It's a zanpakuto. It's the signature weapon of the shinigami, arrancar, and visored. They are blades that are a piece of the shinigami's soul formed into a weapon. It's a literal extension of the shinigami and is unique to each one. Every zanpakuto has a unique name that represents the spirit residing within the blade. Their powers and abilities are based on the soul of the shinigami. Arrancar's zanpakuto are manifestations of their power and are used to seal away the majority of their power when not in combat. Visored are simply shinigami that have hollow powers."

Szayel clapped with a prideful look in eyes. "Very good, Naruto! I am sure Aizen will be pleased that you paid attention to his lessons."

Naruto simply stared at the Arrancar. He was well aware of what a zanpakuto was. When Naruto wasn't used as a lab rat, Aizen would personally teach him about the world he was now a part of. He was educated on the zanpakuto, the shinigami, the Gotei 13, hollows, Hueco Mundo, Menos, Arrancar, etc. Aizen even trained Naruto in the kido arts. He was honestly surprised to see how adept Naruto was in the arts. Whether bakudo, hado, healing or barrier, Naruto took it all like a fish to water. To Aizen, it was like seeing another version from himself, which amused him to no end.

"So why do you have a zanpakuto? I know that's not yours since I can clearly see yours still sheathed on your hip. Did you make a clone of it?" Naruto asked as Szayel shook his head.

"An amusing idea, but not exactly. You see this is a nameless zanpakuto or an asauchi. I am sure Aizen explained how the Shinigami Academy works, correct?" Naruto nodded.

"Well, each new graduate is given a blade like this. They are to eat, sleep, train and fight with the sword day in and day out. As time passes, the shinigami's spiritual energy is transferred into the blade until eventually, it becomes that shinigami's true zanpakuto."

"You mean when they meet the spirit and learn their name?" Naruto asked. Szayel nodded. "Correct."

"So are going to try and make me into a shinigami?" Szayel shook his head. "Not exactly. Aizen and I have a more interesting idea." Before Naruto ask what he meant the blade shattered into twenty pieces.

"I plan to implant these twenty pieces into your body. I then plan to extract pieces of your soul and merged them with the blade shards to see what will happen. Will you develop twenty different weapons and abilities, or will they all come together to form one single weapon?" Szayel then snapped his fingers the blades each pierce a different part of Naruto's body. Naruto gritted his teeth to stop the scream that wanted to erupt from his lungs. Szayel smiled in amusement.

"Hmm, your pain tolerance is quite impressive. You've come a long way from how you were when you first came here." Szayel then moved his hand in front of Naruto's chest as it began to glow a dark purple. Suddenly a black hole appeared on the young blonde's chest. Naruto was about to freak out when he saw a blue orb appeared out of the black abyss.

"Is this my…" Naruto began before Szayel confirmed. "Yes, this is your soul. Now then soul extraction can be quite painful, so I won't blame you for screaming." Szayel then gave him a dark smirk as Naruto glared at him. "So bear with this."

No words could ever describe the excruciating pain of having pieces of your soul ripped out off of you. Naruto screamed for hours on end until his throat became hoarse and he was reduced to pained filled whimpers and sobs.

However, these experiments did bare success. Naruto eventually did discover he had a weapon. A pair of red and blue energy blades. Naruto learned while using the blades that they could be used as blunging weapons or sharp blades that can cut through most hollows like butter.

He also could even reshape them into other weapons, fire the blades from his palms, create lighting attacks, and even barriers. Aizen was intrigued by the versatility of his weapons and gave them the name, **Ethereal Blades**, and wondered what other surprises Naruto had in store with him.

When Naruto was without Aizen, Szayel, or Tousen, who watched him during his spars with low ranking hollows, he had a guardian assigned to him. Her name was Neliel Tu Oderschvank or Nel for short. Nel was assigned to watch both Naruto and Namine and to make sure they don't try to run away. Nel was a really gentle person as she never did anything to harm him. She simply comforted him and listened to all his problems.

Nel also protected him from that bastard Nnoitra who always tried to bully and beat the poor blonde, however, Nel always came to his rescue and stopped him from doing anything along with stopping Nnoitra from trying anything against Namine.

That was another thing he appreciated from Nel. Aside from Tousen, she was the only one who treated with some kind of compassion.

She would tell him about how Namine was fairing through all of this. Thankfully she was not being experimented on like he was, but she was being tested for her abilities, but Nel was never exactly told about Namine's abilities entail. She did say that Namine had taken up drawing to pass the time.

Nel would consistently tease him about how Namine's notebook was filled with drawings of Naruto. Either by himself, when he was orphanage or him holding hands with Namine. It always caused Naruto to blush something fierce. There were even some drawings of the three of them together, like one big happy family. It was probably the happiest time he had in this prison. That was until Nel disappeared.

He doesn't know how or why, but for some reason, Nel just stopped showing up. One of the other Espada, Ulquiorra, came and told him that Nel was gone. That really shattered Naruto. Nel, along with Namine, was the only things keeping him sane in this place. Now she was gone, which left him in a rather depressed state. What's worse without her, he couldn't get updates on Namine.

Things took a turn for the worse as now Nnoitra had no one to stop him from his bullying of little Naruto. However, Naruto finally snapped during one of his Nnoitra's attack as he revealed that he was the reason that Nel was gone.

* * *

"I'll let you know something. I was the one that got rid of Neliel. I killed her useless fraccion, which distracted her enough to deliver a finishing blow on her." Nnoitra laughed. "That bitch was so pathetic. It served her right to fall by me. She was unworthy of being the Tres Espada. She was too soft to be amongst our ranks. And soon I will be one step closer to being the strongest Espada here."

That was the final straw that broke Naruto. Suddenly the moon began to glow in a golden aura as the area began to darken. Nnoitra and his fraccion, Tesra were stumped at what was going on. That was until they felt a fierce spiritual pressure surround them. They looked to see Naruto glaring hatefully at him. Naruto's entire body was covered in a dark blue and black aura as his eyes were glowing an eerie yellow.

Naruto had never felt so angry in his life. All the pain he suffered under Aizen and Szayel, they were all coming out and Nnoitra would be the unfortunate target of all that anger. Naruto raised his hand as a giant blue and white claymore appeared. This was another weapon he discovered he possed. He named the claymore, **Lunatic**. Without much warning, Naruto disappeared in a blur before reappearing right in front of the fifth Espada. Nnoitra had little time to react as he was slugged by Naruto with his claymore.

The sheer force of the blow was strong enough to slam him into the wall. Tesra was shocked at what he just saw and glared at the brat for insubordination. He fired a cero to teach the brat to respect his superiors. However, Tesra was shocked when Naruto managed to block the attack with his claymore. Naruto then slammed his claymore into Tesra's gut before wailing on the bastard before slamming him into the wall. Nnoitra glared at Naruto as he got out of the wall.

"You little bastard! You'll pay for that!" Nnoitra roared as he began charging a cero. Naruto quickly changed to his Ethereal Blades and pumped all the power he could into his palms.

"**Cero!**" Nnoitra roared. Naruto roared back as he summoned an energy wall to block the hollow flash. Naruto was pushed back several feet back before he finally found some footing.

"You're going die brat like that green haired bitch!" Nnoitra mocked as he failed to realize the landmine he kept stepping on. Naruto glared at the fifth Espada as his spiritual pressure exploded again.

"WHAT?!" Nnoitra shouted in shock. How much power did this brat have?! With one last roar of defiance, he pumped the rest of spiritual energy into the wall and reflected the cero back at Nnoitra. The fifth Espada was left stunned as he was hit with his own attack.

Naruto fell to his knees, completely exhausted. From the smoke came Nnoitra with a slightly burned chest.

"You brat. That's it! You're going to die now!" Nnoitra roared as he unsheathed his zanpakuto.

"**Pray-**" Nnoitra began to chant as he was about to release his zanpakuto, but….."Enough." someone said. The two turned to see Tousen with a frown on his face. "Stand down, Nnoitra."

Nnoitra glared at one of Aizen's right-hand men. "This brat needs to be taught some respect! He's gotten too full of himself." As if it justified everything he was doing.

Tousen merely raised an eyebrow. "Like you did when you attacked Neliel?" Nnoitra stiffened at this. "Make no mistake. Aizen was not pleased with your actions. The only reason that you have not been punished is because of how difficult it is to replace Espada. Fortunately, we found someone that will likely fill in Nel's position."

Nnoitra merely growled at this. "You will not put the boy in any more harm nor will try to harm Namine. If you try to harm the girl, I will correct you. Now you may leave or you may give me the incentive to remind you of your position."

"Fine!" Nnoitra growled as he began walking away with Tesra close behind. The two were about to pass Tousen when someone spoke up. "I'll kill you." the Espada and his fraccion stopped as the three turned to see Naruto glaring at Nnoitra.

"What did you say brat," Nnoitra said in a dangerous tone. Naruto's glare intensified as he growled like a wild animal.

"One day I will become more powerful than anyone could possibly imagine and I will kill the Espada. And you will be the first one to die. I will humiliate you and make sure everyone sees you for the pathetic instinct that you truly are. I will make you BEG for mercy, but you'll get none. Got that you filthy insect!"

"Why you…" Nnoitra was about to walk forward if not for the tip of Tousen's blade pointed right at his neck. "Nnoitra Leave. I will not ask a third time." Tousen warned. Nnoitra glared at the two before he scoffed and walked away. Tousen sighed as he sheathed his sword before looking at Naruto.

"Let's go Naruto," Tousen said as he picked the boy up and brought Naruto back into his room as Tousen was about to leave, Naruto asked him something.

"Why?" Tousen turned to see Naruto looking at the moon. "Hm?" Naruto then turned to Tousen. "Why do you follow Aizen?"

"I follow him for he is following the path with the least amount of bloodshed. His path is the path of justice."

Naruto scowled. "Forgive me for not seeing how torturing a child counts as justice."

"Sometimes, sacrifices are necessary for the greater good." Naruto then turned to look at Tousen.

"What about Nel? Was she just a necessary sacrifice?" Naruto asked with a heated glare.

"Nel's demise was an unfortunate event. However, it will not be repeated." Tousen reasoned. The two stayed in silence as Naruto asked one last thing. "Who will watch over us now?"

"At the moment Ulquiorra will be watching over Namine. We will have a possible candidate for you soon." Tousen explained as he began to walk out, but stopped as he was about to exit the room. "Naruto, you may not believe it, but Aizen's cause is just. He will bring order to this chaotic world. Your pain is simply a stepping stone to that goal." that was the last thing Tousen said as he left the room.

Naruto sighed as he sat up on his bed as he looked up to the moon and that's where we find him now.

* * *

"I need to get the hell out of here," Naruto muttered. He wanted to go to Namine, but he had no clue where she was, even when he tried to sense for her. Plus even if he did get to her, there was no way he would have a chance against Ulquiorra. He needed to find a way out and get some help.

He looked up to see the bars of his window. "Hm, maybe my claymore can do something to those bars." Naruto mused to himself as he got off his bed and walked up until he was just below the window.

He then summoned his claymore as he unleashed his reiatsu once more. The familiar feeling of the blue aura soon enveloped his body again. He jumped to the bars of his window and with a loud war cry, he slammed Lunatic into the bars. The result was instantaneous as the bars flew out and went flying out into the sandy arena.

Naruto, not taking any chances, quickly ran up to the window and jumped right off. Naruto was free falling into the sandy arena of Hueco Mundo as he used his spiritual energy to create platforms to slow down his descent. Eventually, Naruto reached the sandy ground and he ran as fast as he possibly could. Little did he know was that he was being watched.

On the top of the castle, Las Noches, Aizen, and Tousen watched Naruto as he ran into the barren wasteland of the hollow's world. "Aizen is it wise to let him go like that?" Tousen asked.

"Yes, let's allow the child to have his freedom," Aizen said with a smile as he continued to watch Naruto run into the distance. "But won't this endanger our plans?" Tousen asked in confusion.

"On the contrary, this will be an excellent way to see how far the boy will go," Aizen said as Tousen looked at him in confusion. Seeing the frown, Aizen decided to elaborate. "We can only gather so much data in Hueco Mundo. His abilities are unique, and he could easily develop more depending on the right stimulation. I want to see what he can do on his own. Besides…."

Aizen said as turned away and began to walk back inside Las Noches. "Wherever he goes, we'll meet again."

"Damn it!" Naruto swore. Escaping was proving much more difficult as Naruto was soon ambushed by a small horde of hollows. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but he was far too exhausted to handle these fodder hollows now. '_I need to get out of here!_' Naruto mentally shouted as he fell to his knees.

Naruto looked up to see himself surrounded by the small horde of hollows. Naruto had one last idea that could help him get out of this mess. It was long shot as it was an ability he had never tested in combat yet, but he was desperate enough to try anything. Before the hollows could jump him, Naruto was enveloped in a cocoon of darkness as he soon disappeared with the hollow attacks hitting nothing.

Back in the castle of Las Noches, in a room similar to Naruto's, a young blonde haired girl was drawing a picture of Naruto in her sketchbook before she suddenly paused. She looked out her window as she felt Naruto's presence disappear. "Good luck, Naruto-kun. I hope I get to see you again," Namine said sadly.

Naruto felt himself floating. The best way to describe it was similar to being in the water. He felt weightless in an endless abyss of darkness. Suddenly he felt himself slam into the cold, hard ground. Naruto groaned from the hard landing. He soon felt something pelting his body. It was raining.

'_Great._' Naruto thought as he shivered from the cold water hitting his body. '_Does life enjoy screwing me over._'

"Yade. Yade." a voice said. Using the little strength he had left Naruto looked up to see a man with an umbrella staring down at him. He was quite tall with messy, pale blonde hair and grey eyes. What Naruto noticed the most was the man's green and white bucket hat and the obnoxious big smile on his face.

Naruto could tell one thing though. This man was not normal. He could feel the reiryoku coming from this man. This man was a shinigami. Naruto felt like recognized the man, but could not put his finger on it.

"I have an unexpecting customer." The man cheerfully said with a gigantic smile. It was the last thing Naruto heard and saw before he lost consciousness again.

* * *

_** Hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave your thoughts in a review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello everyone and welcome to the next installment of MON. Now this chapter will cover several events. I apologize for the late update, but I have been rather busy. I would like to announce that after six years, I am an official College Graduate! Hooray! Now I should have more time to work on chapters. I hope anyway. Now I am posting this chapter as soon as possible as my family is going on this joint vacation soon so I want to update before the trip. Now, this chapter goes through a lot of events. The reason is that I want to get to canon as soon as possible and I want to finish the setup chapter as soon as possible. So I hope it's not too fast-paced. Let me know your thoughts and enjoy the chapter.**_

* * *

_**Battle under the Rain and a New Family**_

Naruto found himself floating in the middle of an endless black abyss. He couldn't feel anything. Not his limbs, or even any warmth or cold. It was just an empty void that stretched on forever without any foreseeable end. He was not scared, merely curious about where he could be. He knew he escaped Hueco Mundo and landed somewhere in the human world. The pain he felt as he landed proved that. But now he wasn't sure where he was. Did he slip again using the Corridor of Darkness accident when he lost consciousness again? If so how will get out now?

Before he could ponder anymore, he began to hear a voice.

"N..ar...u...to!" Naruto paused in thought. That voice sounded familiar.

"Nar….uto...wa..ke….up!" He could almost recognize the voice. It was of a girl.

"Naruto, please wake up!" Naruto's eyes widen as he finally connected the voice to a name. "Namine!" he shouted as he began to thrash around in a frenzy trying to find a direction to move to. Suddenly, Naruto saw a light began to peer through the darkness of the void. Naruto began moving as he tried to get closer to the light. The closer he got to the light, the louder the voice of Namine became.

"NARUTO!" the voice of Namine shouted as Naruto reached the light and was blinded by it.

"NAMINE!" was the last outcry from the blonde before everything went white. "Hmmm." Naruto moaned as his eyes fluttered open. At first, everything was rather blurry with a strange shadow over him. Naruto blinked a few times to allow his eyes to adjust themselves. Out of everything he expected, the last thing that Naruto expected to see once he woke up was a middle-aged man looking down at him.

"ARGHHHHH!" Naruto shouted in shock as he tried to shove the man away as he leaned in closer. "Hmm, those are some impressive lungs. It seems you have recovered nicely."

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto demanded. Just where in the hell did he land?! And who the hell was the pervert in his bed?!

"Oi boss! Our guest has awakened!" The man called out, which caused Naruto to pause. Who was this boss?

"Oh really! Excellent." The two men turned to see the door slide open. Out came the same man that Naruto saw before he lost consciousness.

The two men sat across Naruto as he lifted himself up. He quickly noticed the bandages around his arms and chest. He looked up to the older blonde and his assistant. "Where you two the ones that banged me up?" The blonde took out a small fan as he waved it with a giant smile. "That's right! I couldn't let a child stay out there in the cold!" Naruto deadpan at him, but mentally he was curious. This man looked so familiar, but where? He was a shinigami based on the spiritual energy he could feel, which means he may know him from Aizen's lectures. Maybe a name could help.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. "Isn't polite to give your name first?" He teased. Naruto snorted but answered.

"My name is Naruto. I have no surname to my recollection."

"My name is Urahara Kisuke. And you are at my shop. So I must ask what were you doing out there." Naruto's eyes widen when he heard the name. How the hell could he not see it! This was the man that Aizen acknowledges but also desires to surpass. He was the one shinigami that had the item that Aizen sought. The creator of the Hogyoku, and the one Aizen framed for the hollowfication of several captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13.

"Why would a former shinigami captain be running a candy shop?" Naruto asked in confusion. The two men looked at another before laughing uncontrollably. "Now what would you be talking about? I am no death god. I am just a simple shopkeeper." Urahara said in a joking manner. Naruto just glared in annoyance at the facade that Urahara put up. Looks like he'll have to be blunt to get him talking.

"Urahara Kisuke. Former Captain of Squad 12 and founder of the Research and Development Division. Also creator of the Hogyoku. An item that can break the barriers between shinigami and hollow. You were exiled along with the Visoreds, Yoruichi Shihoin, and Tessai for crimes you didn't commit. Tell me do I sound like I don't know what I am talking about?" Naruto challenged.

The air soon became thick with tension as the two men and child stared at one another. The three stayed in complete silence for what seemed like hours until Urahara spoke again. "Yade. Yade. What a troublesome child I seem to have taken in." he said as he waved his fan. "Tell me a bit about yourself, Naruto. As you seem to know all about us, it's only courteous you tell us about yourself. After all, we did save you."

Naruto looked at the former shinigami captain before sighing. "I don't have much to tell you. I was left on the doorsteps of the local orphanage. No clue who my biological parents are. The only things I was left with was an orange blanket with my name on it and a scarf. I learned about my ability to see spirits when I was three." This caused Urahara's and Tessai's eyes to rise up as its very rare for any spiritually aware human to awaken at such an early age.

"I also had a friend named Namine, who could also see spirits. Then a fire started that engulf the entire orphanage. Everyone I knew was dead, and the only ones alive were myself and Namine. The two of us were trapped in that raging inferno, and both of us should have died as the building collapsed on top of us. But when I woke from the blackout, myself and Namine were outside in the rain. When I asked her what happened, she said she didn't know. The last thing she remembered was the building falling on us, darkness, and then we were outside."

Urahara raised an eyebrow, curious at what Naruto just retold. It sounded like he awoke his latent powers and saved himself and his friend. Though it's still impressive for a human to awaken their powers without being constantly exposed to or near a powerful spiritual being like a shinigami. That would mean those powers existed since he was born.

"That still doesn't explain how you ended at our doorstep, Naruto?" Urahara pressed as he was curious how Naruto ended up at his shop.

Naruto sighed. "When Namine and I got bearings again we approached by a man. He said we could be interesting test subjects. So he took us to his lair in Hueco Mundo. For three years, I was made into that bastard's guinea pig for his experiments. I finally had enough and busted out of my cell and ran away. But in the midst of that, I got attacked by a horde of hollows, but I was too weak to handle them. So I used an untested ability to get out of there. Next thing I know, I land in front of your shop."

"Hmm. Naruto who was the man that abducted you?" Urahara asked. Suddenly the two felt an incredible reiatsu being released by Naruto. Naruto glared at the two as he grinds his teeth in rage as thought about the bastard that screwed over his life. "It's a man you know all too well. He's the one who caused you, Tessai, Yoruichi, and the Visoreds to get exiled. Sosuke Aizen!" Naruto spat the name as if it was venom in his mouth. Urahara and Tessai's eyes widen before they narrowed in rage as they remembered Aizen all too well.

"I see." Urahara mused. "Naruto, if it's not too much I would like you to explain what happened to you in Hueco Mundo."

"Boss I don't think-" Tessai began until Naruto interrupted. "It's fine. I was planning on telling you anyways." Naruto sighed before he began retelling everything that happens to him under Aizen. The Arrancars, his desire to find the Hogyoku, his pseudo-hogyoku he has created, the dissections, the mock battles with hollows, Aizen teaching him about the Kido arts and his world, and the ripping out of pieces of his soul.

By the time he was done, the temperature around Kisuke and Tessai had dropped drastically as they reflexively released their reiatsu. Tessai gripped his knees as his knuckles turned white, while Kisuke was gripping his fan so hard, that it was cracking under the pressure. Eventually, the two men sighed as they allowed themselves to calm down. "You have my sympathy, Naruto. Tell me, what do you plan to do now?" Naruto glared at the man. "What do you think?! I am going back to save Namine!"

Urahara gave him a grim look and preparing himself for the bomb that was about to go off with his next statement. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't allow you to do that," he said in a regretful tone. Naruto snarled in rage. "What the hell makes you think you can stop me?!" Naruto shouted before he was slammed back onto his bed by Kisuke's cane. Naruto glared to see the impassive stare of the former gotei captain.

"Look how easily I slammed you back into the bed. If you go back to Hueco Mundo, you'll die. That is if you even make it to Hueco Mundo." Urahara lectured.

"Then I will just wait till I recover." Naruto defiantly declared as Kisuke simply shook his head. "That won't change anything. You said it yourself. You were on constant watch in Aizen's castle. Not to mention, Aizen probably has security and monitors watching the entire palace. You would have to figure out how to get through all that to get to your friend. Especially since you don't even know where she was kept for the three years you were there. Besides even if you manage to get to Namine, do you honestly expect to fight all of his Arrancar and win?"

Naruto growled as he glared at the man pinning him down. He knew Kisuke was right, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow. That he was utterly powerless to help Namine at the moment. "What do you expect me to do then, Urahara?" Naruto said in a weak tone. Urahara smiled as he had already devised a plan to help Naruto. "I have a proposition for you." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you stay here in my humble shop?" Kisuke said as he began to wave his fan. Naruto blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Tessai can complete your Kido training, I can get an old friend to train you in Hoho and Hakuda, and I can help you train your abilities. While your abilities may not be shinigami, they were formed after zanpakuto fragments were infused with your soul, so I believe similar training methods can be used. I may be able to find out more about your abilities and see what other weapons you can unlock from them. What do you say?"

Naruto stared in shock at the proposal. The invitation was appealing. Under Kisuke, he'll have a nice home with people that actually care of his well being. These people were captain class level fighters and Kisuke's case, a former captain. He was one of the few men if not the only person that could match Aizen in cunning and intelligent.

'_But._' Naruto bit his lips. Could he really just stay here and leave Namine all alone in Hueco Mundo. "How can I just leave Namine alone?" Naruto asked softly as he looked up to see Urahara's gentle and sympathetic gaze. "I am not asking you to abandon your friend, Naruto. I am asking you to become my student. I promise to teach you to the best of my abilities. I will make you powerful enough that you could face off against nearly all the captains of the Gotei 13 to the point that they will need their Bankai to face you."

"Will I be strong?" Naruto asked as Urahara smiled. "Yes. Very strong."

"Will I be able to face Aizen and his Arrancar?"

Urahara shrugged. "That will all depend on you, Naruto." The little blonde sighed. He had little options, so as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and then slowly exhaled.

He opened his eyes to give Urahara a determined glare. "I accept your offer, Urahara." Urahara gave a big smile as he began to wave his fan. "Excellent! Now you rest up for the next couple of days. We'll have a sparring match so I can see your capabilities. For now rest."

Naruto nodded as he adjusted to get some sleep. Kisuke left with Tessai following close behind. The former captain had to make a few calls to some old friends.

* * *

[A Few Days Later]

"Alright Tessai, why did Urahara call us here?" asked an irate man. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties with short blond hair in a bowl cut. He had squinty eyes with a piercing on his tongue. The most noticeable thing of his appearance was the zanpakuto in his arm. This was Shinji Hirako. The other occupant was a black cat with amber eyes. This was Yoruichi Shihoin.

"Come down to the training arena and you'll find out." The two grumbled as they followed the assistant shopkeeper down. The first thing the two noticed was Kisuke was in the middle of the arena with a blonde kid.

"Who's the kid? Some stray you picked up?" Shinji asked. Tessai shook his head. "His name is Naruto. He'll be in our care for the foreseeable future as our student."

"Since when has Kisuke been interested in children?" an incredulous Yoruichi asked. After all, in all the time that she has known Kisuke, he was never a kids person. Hell, he was barely a people's person.

"Naruto is unique. We found him at our doorstep after he escaped from Hueco Mundo." That got the attention of the two occupants. "So he's a runaway spirit?" Tesai shook his head. "Nope. He's human. He's been spiritually aware since he was three, but one day he and his friend were abducted by someone." Shinji and Yoruichi looked at each other in confusion before looking back at Tessai "What does this have to do with us?" Shinji asked. "The one who kidnapped them was Aizen." A grim look passed over Shinji's and Yoruichi's faces. "I see. So that's was this is about. What does the kid want?" Yoruichi asked.

"Naruto wants to save his friend, but we both know that is impossible with his current power. Even if he did manage to get back to Hueco Mundo, Aizen won't be as merciful and neither will his followers."

"So you plan to train the kid for what? To bust in and save his girlfriend? No offense, but what could a spiritual human capable of doing against a shinigami, especially Aizen?" Yoruichi asked. Sure, she felt for the kids, but no human regardless of their spiritual abilities could match a shinigami. The gap is just too wide. It was a harsh truth that the boy would have to accept. But Kisuke wouldn't just agree to train the boy if he didn't see or feel something special about him.

"Well considering the boy was able to reflect a cero of an Arrancar. Not to mention that Aizen took interest in his abilities. I think that warrants at least some attention." That seems to get the attention of two exiles as looked towards the two blondes.

"Well let's see what the kid got," Shinji said as the three observed the sparring match that was about to begin.

**[Bleach Ost: What Can You See In Their Eyes]**

"Ready Naruto?" Urahara asked as he took a blade out of his cane. "Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed as he released his reiatsu as he was enveloped in a black aura. Everyone felt their eyes widen at the amount of reiatsu Naruto was releasing. "Holy! That's the reiatsu I would feel from a seated officer! How can a child have so much spiritual power at such a young age." an impressed and shocked Yoruichi asked. "If I have to guess, his reiatsu is equivalent to a fifth seat officer, correct?" Shinji commented as he looked at Tessai for confirmation.

"That sounds about right. Now let's see what happens." Tessai replied as the three looked back to the spar. "Alright then. Looks like I may fun in this fight?" Kisuke asked in an amused tone. "Oh, you'll have fun," Naruto warned as he disappeared in a blur. '_Shunpo!_' Everyone exclaimed mentally. Naruto suddenly appeared above Urahara's head with the ethereal blades ignited from his palms. Naruto swung his blades downward, but the former captain simply raised his cane sword and blocked the two strikes.

Naruto grunted as he tried to push his blades forward, but Urahara did not budge an inch. Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance as Urahara merely smirked in amusement. "You'll have to do better than that Naruto." Urahara teased as he pushed his sword arm forward, which sent Naruto flying back a few feet. Naruto looked up to see Urahara in front of him with his cane sword above his head.

Naruto reacted quickly as he jumped back to avoid the downward slash. Naruto retracted his ethereal blades as he glared at Urahara. "If a frontal attack won't work. Let's see you handle this!" he roared as he fired multiple ethereal blades from the palm of his hands.

Kisuke smirked as he easily dodged, blocked, and parried all of the blades that were fired at him. When he looked back to see Naruto's next move, only to see him with a new weapon? He blinked in confusion as in Naruto's hand was a black book. This made him raise an eyebrow. What could the book do? Naruto smirked as the book began to glow. "**Hell View,**" he muttered. There was a flash of light that blinded Kisuke for a second. When the light dimmed he looked to see everyone was gone.

Before he could ponder what just happen, a rumbling sound caught his attention as the entire area began to shake uncontrollably. '_Hm. Now, what could you be planning Naruto-chan._' Suddenly the ground broke apart as lava spew from the newly formed crater as a giant black serpent arose for the molten ground. Urahara raised an eyebrow as the monstrous creature hissed at him. "An illusion? Well, I can't really say I am surprised. You were under Aizen, so it stands to reason one of your abilities will revolve around illusions. A rather effective one at that. I actually could feel the vibrations from the quake and the heat from coming from the lava. Pretty good illusion. But." Urahara rambled before releasing his reiatsu.

Suddenly the entire area began to crack as it was made out of glass. Then like glass, the area shattered with the illusion disappearing and everything back to how it originally was. Urahara quickly got his bearing as Naruto came up right in front of him with his right index and middle fingers pointing at Urahara's face.

"**Hado #4: Byakurai (White Lightning)!**" Naruto shouted as an arc of lightning erupted from his fingers as it made a beeline for Urahara's face. However, Urahara was not a former captain for nothing. Using his insane reaction speed, he tilted his head to avoid the lightning attack.

He looked back to see Naruto smirking at him. "**Bakudo #4: Hainawa (Slithering Rope)!**" Naruto shouted as an electric yellow rope came from his hands as they wrapped around Kisuke. Naruto raised his two palms forward and shouted, "**Hado #33: Sokatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down)!**" Naruto shouted as blue flames were released from his palm as Urahara was hit from the close-range attack. The close collusion caused a large explosion to envelop the two.

The spectators covered their eyes as dust and debris from the explosion passed over them. "Damn, I have to admit, this kid has some skills." Shinji couldn't help, but compliment.

"Agreed. He's also an adept user of kido. He used three different kidos one after the other. Not to mention he performed a level 30 hado spell without an incantation is very impressive. Especially for someone so young. I dare say I have found a possible new apprentice and a future Kido master." Tessai said in an excited tone.

"Not to mention, he created the illusion to distract Kisuke as he knew Kisuke could easily break it. He then used that distraction to perform Byakurai. But that was also another ruse to get Kisuke wide open to be trapped in the bakudo spell before blasting him with a Sokatsui. A rather impressive strategy for a seven-year-old to come up with. His shunpo is also pretty good for someone so young. Though it will take more than that to beat Urahara." Yoruichi complimented.

As the smoke cleared, the three observers could see Naruto panting slightly as was crouched down to one knee. A few feet away from Kisuke appeared from the smoke. He looked rather amused as he looked completely unharmed except for the dirt covering his clothes. Naruto frowned at the lack of damage. He knew he should have expected as much considering who he's facing, but it was a little disheartening that he couldn't at least leave a scratch on him.

"Well, I must say I am impressed. You are doing better than I expected. Tell me any more surprises?" Naruto sighed. He only had one last trick that could help him. He summoned his book again and suddenly the book glowed as a dark sphere was released from the book as it flew into the ceiling of the arena. Everyone looked up to see the orb slam into the ceiling as it enveloped the entire area in darkness as a golden moon began to appear.

"Well that's a lovely moon, but how will this help you?" Urahara mused out loud. Suddenly, everyone felt an incredible spike in spiritual energy. They turned to see Naruto holding a large claymore as he was enveloped in a dark blue aura as the moon shine brightly. Naruto looked up as his eyes glowed a deep yellow and gained much more feral features. Urahara slight tensed as he raised his blade. "Looks like I should get a little serious. Right, Naruto-chan?" Urahara teased before dropping the goofy facade as he began releasing his spiritual pressure. "**Awaken, Benihime,**" Urahara said as his zanpakuto glowed as it turned into its Shikai state.

Naruto growled before disappearing again using his shunpo. Reacting quickly, Urahara raised his blade as the claymore was slammed into his blade. Naruto growled as he pushed lunatic further into Urahara who didn't seem to be struggling at all.

"Is that all?" he teased again with that annoying grin of his. Something that pisses Naruto off as he grew angrier with his aura reacting to his rage as it got even bigger and darker. He roared as he pushed Urahara away. The candy salesman skidded back a few feet but did not seem too concerned. He looked up to see Naruto appear right in front of him with his claymore over his head. Naruto roared as he swung downward.

"**Chikasumi no Tate.**" Naruto slammed his claymore into the blood mist shield as shockwaves erupted from the collision of the two attacks. The berserker blonde growled as he released more of his reiatsu as he pushed lunatic further. Urahara was actually impressed to see cracks appear on benihime's shield. He couldn't help but smile.

'_Not bad kid. You'll go far, but you still have a long way to go._' Urahara thought as he shouted. "**Nake, Benihime!**" A crimson blade of energy erupted from the zanpakuto as Naruto was forced to cease his attack and use the claymore as a makeshift shield. The blonde attempted to push the attack back, but it was just too strong as he was sent skidding back. Naruto roared as he finally deflected the attack away from him. The moon suddenly disappeared along with Naruto's aura as he fell to his hands and knees panting in exhaustion. That attack was even stronger than what the cero that bastard Nnotria blasted him with. Naruto then felt cold steel at his neck. He looked up to see Urahara in front of him with the tip of Benihime ready to pierce his flesh.

"Yield," Urahara commanded in a cold tone. Naruto glared defiantly but knew this was his loss. "I yield." Naruto relented after a tense minute. Urahara retracted his blade as went back into its sealed state. "So. How was that?" Naruto asked. Urahara stared at Naruto for a good few seconds before…..

"That was rather impressive!" Kisuke happily exclaimed as he suddenly took out his fan and waved it enthusiastically. Naruto blinked. "Huh?" He asked in a confused tone. "I hate to admit this, but Aizen trained you well. You have pretty good speed and reaction time for someone your age. You also have a good head on your shoulders when it comes to strategy. Chaining those attacks and Kido spells to catch me off guard is a pretty good strategy. Plus it seems you have a good grasp of your spiritual energy." Urahara explained in his usual happy tone. "Though you have some shortcomings. Your Zanjutsu still needs some work, your Hakuda looks to be non-existent, your shunpo still needs a lot of work before it can surprise captains, and that rage mode while useful is rather ineffective in prolonging fights. I recommend saving it for a last resort if you ever plan to use it."

Naruto nodded. Urahara then turned to their approaching spectators. "Well, what do you guys think?" Shinji clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You basically said everything we were all thinking. So I have nothing to add."

"I believe I have found someone I can pass my teachings to. Not since Hachi have I seen someone with such potential in kido." Tessai said.

"Now you mention it, Hachi probably wouldn't mind teaching his barrier kido to the kid. The rest of us can take turns working on his combat experience. Who knows, if we put him in enough dangerous situations in our spars, we can unlock more weapons and abilities." Naruto looks slightly concerned at what Shinji was implying by 'dangerous situations'.

"Hmm. I'm sure I can do something with his Hakuda and Shunpo. Who knows, maybe I'll have someone to pass my title onto as well." Yoruichi teased. Naruto looked at the talking cat weirdly. "Who's the talking cat?" Naruto asked. The black cat chuckled for a few seconds. "Oh, my apologies. I haven't introduced myself. I am Yoruichi." she replied.

Naruto felt his eyes widen in surprise. "Wait your Yoruichi?" he asked in a confused tone. Yoruichi blinked a few times at Naruto's reaction. "Wow, that was a lackluster response. Aren't you surprised to see a talking cat?" she sarcastically asked. Naruto merely shrugged. "I have lived in Hueco Mundo for years. I have seen weirder shit." Yoruichi jumped and scratched Naruto across the nose with her claws.

"GAAAAAAAH!" Naruto cried in pain as he clutched his nose. Yoruichi merely blew on her nails in boredom. Naruto glared at the black feline. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!" Naruto screamed before Yoruichi scratched him again.

"GAAAAAAH!"

"Language! Looks like your manners is something else Tessai and I will have to work on." Yoruichi lectured. Naruto growled but kept his mouth shut before he said something else. The others just looked at the interaction in amusement.

"Can you explain why you can turn to a cat at least?" Naruto asked in a confused tone. "It's a special ability that my family gained a long time ago. Maybe I'll tell you later on." Yoruichi than got a mischievous glint in her eyes that all the other men recognized. "But I guess I can show you my true self."

Steam and smoke covered the area as the black cat was enveloped in the steam as its morphed and changed into a much more humanoid shape. When the steam cleared, standing before Naruto was a beautiful and busty woman with ebony skin tone and violet colored hair that went down her back. There was also an important part that she was completely naked! Naruto blushed to atomic levels of red. Yoruichi giggled in amusement. "Wow, what a cute reaction. Do you like what you see Naruto-kun?" she teased. Naruto did the only thing he could do at the moment.

He fainted.

Everyone blinked a few times before they all giggled/chuckled in amusement. Things were going to get very interesting for the young blond haired boy.

* * *

[Two Years Later]

Naruto sighed as placed his finished ramen cup after watching something interesting on TV. For some reason, he always felt a sense of fulfillment from eating a cup of ramen. Though he had a very healthy diet thanks to his strict guardians that stopped him from eating too much ramen but enjoying it in short increments.

"Hey Urahara, I am going out for a bit!" Naruto called out to his guardian and mentor.

"It's pouring out there," Urahara called back. Naruto rolled his eyes as he approached the door. "Relax, I'll wear one of your coats. That'll keep me warm and away from any unusual sensors. I just need to get some fresh air." Naruto replied as he took one of Urahara's special coats and puts it on.

As Naruto opens the door, he hears Urahara call out again. "Alright, just be careful, and if you get into any trouble just release your spiritual energy and I'll come to rescue my cute godson!"

Naruto felt several veins pop on his head. "I am not cute nor am I helpless, godfather!" he retorted back. Naruto's eyebrow twitches as he hears Urahara's laughter. "Of course, but what kind of parental figure would I be if I did not worry?" he questioned. Naruto snorted. "Fine. Whatever."

"Have a safe trip!" Urahara called out one last time as Naruto closed the door. Naruto sighed in annoyance as he jumped into the pouring rain. The young blonde enjoyed these nights out as they helped him clear his mind.

It was hard to believe that two years have gone by since he first landed in front of Urahara's candy shop, but time just seems to fly by. Thinking about these two years brought a smile to face. They were the best years of his young life prior to the fire in the orphanage. While he still missed Namine, his new family did their best to mend the wounds, even if some of them sucked at being emotional support.

Tessai was a patient, but diligent teacher when teaching Naruto Kido. He always stressed to be quick but precise when performing them as one misstep could end in disaster. Tessai also stressed having constant control of his spiritual energy. Having control allows him to know how much spiritual power to give a spell and not to waste a single ounce as it could mean the difference between life and death.

Urahara was similar in his teaching methods but was much more jovial in attitude. Urahara continued the studies that Aizen had begun in Hueco Mundo. The older blonde focused on refining everything Naruto learned from the rogue shinigami and testing the young blonde to ensure that Naruto understood and remembered everything he was taught. He even taught Naruto about the Hogyoku and why he created it in the first place. Although there was one oddity in the lessons. The Quincy.

Aizen did mention the Quincy in his lessons. Their abilities, history, and destruction by the shinigami. But when Naruto asked about how the Quincy came to be, Aizen explained that records of such time were nonexistent. This surprised Naruto as Aizen usually knew everything, but Aizen remained his usual amused, stoic self when he explained that such information was meaningless to him for now.

This always left Naruto confused and when he asked Urahara about this. He hoped the older blonde could clear this confusion, but Urahara just jovially said even he did not know everything. But Naruto knew there was something off with his answer, but shrugged it off for now.

Then there was Yoruichi. Naruto shuddered as he remembered his training with his self proclaimed godmother. As the former commander of squad 2 and stealth corp, Yoruichi did not pull any punches in her training.

When she said, she found a potential heir/successor, she actually meant it and trained Naruto to one day surpass her and take her title of Flash Goddess. Yoruichi trained Naruto to be a high tier member of the onmitsukido and beyond. She taught him about their philosophy and their minds. To strike when the opportunity arises, and to do so quickly and without remorse. To stay in the shadows waiting for your enemy to slip, and to travel without making a single noise. She trained Naruto to be assassin that would be unrivaled. Surprisingly, Naruto took the training as a fish does to water. It was almost like he was born to be an assassin.

The Visoreds were an interesting bunch. They were all like his aunts and uncles. All of them usually focused on combat training to expand Naruto's current weapons and abilities, while also seeing if they could unlock more abilities. The ones that took the majority of this part of his training were most of the visoreds, except for Lisa and Hachi; the latter focusing on his training in barrier kido and the former attempting to corrupt the young blonde. Naruto shook the blush that appeared as he remembered some of the adult magazines he was shown by Lisa. Thankfully, Kensei was there to pull away from any unnecessary influence.

Overall, he can say that he has enjoyed these two years. His power has increased exponentially as now he could probably take on most of the lower ranking lieutenants of the Gotei 13 and maybe a captain. He even unlocked four other weapons. Naruto idly wondered how many more weapons/abilities will he be able to awaken, and what will they grant him.

To this day, Urahara still has not been able to understand how to categorize his powers. He explained the closet powers they matched were shinigami, and that was due to how Aizen implanted the zanpakuto shards that were embedded with pieces of his soul and their ability to purify hollows. While the method was much more brutal, it was similar to how shinigami imbue their power into their asauchi to become their true zanpakuto.

So far, Urahara was not sure what other abilities Naruto will unlock, but he did know Naruto will only get more powerful from this. He would probably be the most unpredictable spiritual being that has ever lived. Naruto was not sure whether to take that as a compliment or insult as Urahara gave that happy grin as he flapped his fan when he said that.

Naruto was cut from musing down memory lane when he heard someone. He paused on top of a pole as looked at the scene below him. A young boy that looked to be the same age as Naruto with the spiky orange hair was running down a hill. He could see a woman with similar color hair, presumably the boy's mother, calling after the boy. However, what worried Naruto was what the boy was going to. The young boy believes he's stopping a young girl from committing suicide. However, what the boy did not see is that the girl was an illusion. It was nothing more than the lore of a hollow. This was not just any hollow. This was Grand Fisher. An infamous hollow that had escaped shinigami for over 40 years.

"Shit that kid can see spiritual beings, but probably can't tell the difference yet," Naruto said in frustrations as he leaped forward.

* * *

"Ichigo come back here!" Masaki cried as she ran after her son. "Just wait, mom!" Ichigo cried back as he kept running to the girl that was standing at the edge of the river. "I need to save her," he muttered in a serious tone.

"Wait! Don't do it!" Masaki cried to no avail as Ichigo reached the girl. However, the young child was surprised when he approached the girl...only for his hand to go right through her. "Huh?" he asked in confusion as he suddenly heard a dark and malicious chuckle close to him.

**[Bleach Ost: Invasion]**

"**Foolish boy.**" a dark voice slurred that caused a chill to go down Ichigo's spine. "**You'll be a tasty treat before the main course!**" Ichigo slowly turns to see the dark silhouette of Grand Fisher looking down at him with a large and malicious grin as he raised his right claw. Ichigo continued to look in fear until he heard his mother scream.

"ICHIGO!" that was the last thing the young boy heard before everything became a blur before losing consciousness. Masaki looked over her son before finally sighing in relief. "Good. He's okay," she said with a smile. However, the sickening growls of Grand Fisher caused her to scowl as she turned to glare at him. "You'll regret that hollow," she warned in a venomous tone.

Grand Fisher chuckled at his amusing food. "**Oh really? And why is that?**" Masaki continued to glare as she fully turned to face Grand Fisher. "Because I will kill you," she said in a resolute tone. Grand Fisher blinks a few times before laughing uncontrollably.

"**HAHAHAHAHA! Do you know how many shinigami have said that and have been killed by me? What makes you different.**" Grand Fisher mocked.

"Well for one, she has backup!" shouted a voice as six lances impaled Grand Fisher's palms, ankles, and back.

"**ARGHHHHH!**" Grand Fisher screeched in pain. Masaki watched in stun silence as the infamous hollow tried to maneuver out of his entrapment with no avail. Suddenly both notice Naruto's appearance as he pulled his hood down to reveal his face. "A CHILD?!" both screamed in shock.

"Who are you?" Masaki asked, but Naruto kept his eyes on Grand Fisher as his lances, **Lindworm**, kept him in place. "That doesn't matter right now. Get away now. Take your kid and run as far as you can." Naruto replied.

"I appreciate the help, but I can't leave you alone to fight that thing!" Masaki screamed. Did the boy not understand how dangerous that hollows can be. Especially one as infamous as Grand Fisher?!

"Relax, I can handle this. A normal human can't do anything." Naruto retorted. Masaki felt the need to snort in amusement. "That is where you are wrong. I am not a normal human. I can fight." This got Naruto to turn slightly to Masaki with a raised eyebrow "Oh yeah, how?"

Masaki merely smiled as she raised her right arm as a silver bracelet came out with a unique cross symbol. Suddenly reishi began collecting around the bracelet as it formed a bow out of spiritual energy. Naruto fully turned to her with wide eyes. "A Quincy?!" he said in shock.

That shouldn't be possible! The only family of Quincy should be the Ishida! Urahara told him-Naruto's widen before narrowing as he realized that Urahara was indeed hiding something from him. '_Oh, godfather you and I are gonna have a long talk after this._'

Suddenly a beam of light fell from the heavens enveloped Masaki. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto screamed in shock and worry as he felt Masaki's spiritual energy drain from her body. When the light disappeared Naruto quickly rushed to Masaki's side. "Hey lady what's going on?"

"The Auswählen light. My….bastard….of a….king has made his….selections...for….his….army."

"Auswählen? King? What king?! What army?!" Naruto tried to question, but Masaki had already lost consciousness. Naruto grew worried as her pulse became weak. "Shit she won't make it if I don't take her back to Urahara," Naruto muttered. He quickly grabbed Ichigo and put him along with Masaki on his back. He was about to leave when he heard a monstrous growl.

He turned to see Grand Fisher freed from the six lances, glaring down at him hatefully. "**Where you think you're going? None of you are escaping alive**."

Naruto blinked a few times. "Well shit. This is embarrassing. I almost forgot about you." Grand Fisher roared as he was about to strike Naruto when a dark figure delivered a fierce right hook that sent him skidding a few feet. The hollow turned and was shocked to see a dark shape with yellow eyes and a heart-shaped hole on its chest. "**What in the world are you?**"

"**Guardian**. Get them to Urahara, now." Naruto commanded. The now named Guardian nodded as it flew towards Naruto and grabbed the two and were beginning to disappear in a column of darkness.

"**I will not let you take my prey-argh!**" Grand Fisher started before it shouted in pain as two lances flew down and cut deeply into his shoulders. Fisher growled in pain as he glared at Naruto. It opened its maw as reishi collected inside as it formed a red sphere. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the lances disappeared as his hands sparked with blue electricity. "**Die Brat!**" it roared as it fired its cero towards Naruto. The young blonde raised his hands as a screen wall appeared in front of him as it once more blocked the cero. However, unlike before he could hold the cero off without being pushed off.

Naruto pushed forward as the cero was sent right back in several different beams. Grand Fisher's eyes widen as he was bombarded with his own cero in a crimson explosion. Naruto gazed at the smoke cloud as he waited for Grand Fisher to appear. He knew it would take more than that to kill him. Suddenly Naruto heard some cracking noise. He quickly jumps as several orange spikes suddenly rose from the ground. One of them managed to nip Naruto's cheek. He looked that out of the smoke was an angry looking Grand Fisher with blood flowing down its damaged left eye and several burns around its body.

Naruto quickly summoned his next weapon. Water began drawing into his palms as he brought them together and in a flash, one of his new weapons appeared. It was in the shape of a sitar in varying shades of blue. This was **Arpeggio**, one of the weapons that Naruto unlocked in the last two years.

Naruto began to play a fast-paced tune. He will always be thankful to Rose for teaching him how to play his weapon. "**Dance Water! Dance!**" Naruto shouted as the water around him began itself to condense into various musical notes. The notes lunged towards a stun Grand Fisher, who growled at these childish games.

Grand Fisher easily ripped through the water constructs with ease as he turned to Naruto, but surprised to see he was gone. He believed that Naruto was gone, but shouted in pain as he felt several sharp objects pierce his back. He looked to his back to see several yellow knives embedded into him. "Hey, ugly."

Grand Fisher looked up to see Naruto up in the air with the same knives on his back in between the boy's fingers. Naruto gave him a smirk as electricity danced around the knives, **Foudre**. Grand Fisher's eyes widen. "Hope you enjoy this. **Thunder!**" Naruto shouted as electricity crackled on the knives as a lightning bolt descended from the heavens and struck the hollow. Grand Fisher shrieked in pain as its entire body was electrified.

Naruto smirked in satisfaction as the smoking body of Grand Fisher fell to the ground. Naruto used a shunpo to appear just a few feet away from Grand Fisher. He dismissed his knives as he summoned the Ethereal Blades to settle this. However, he was surprised to see Grand Fisher get back on his feet. Naruto narrowed his eyes in anticipation. He knew it would take more to take Grand Fisher down. There was a reason why he was so infamous to souls and shinigami.

Naruto was about to strike again when the doll he used to fool Ichigo appears in front of him. Naruto scoffed and kept going as Grand Fisher covered the doll's head with his enlarged hands. Naruto was about to strike but froze when Grand Fisher released his grip on the doll's head. However, it was not the same face from before.

The doll's face was now of someone Naruto had not seen in years. The same pale blonde hair and deep blue eyes that matched his own. "Naruto," she said softly. Naruto deactivated his blades he stared in shock. "N-Namine."

**SQUELCH!**

Naruto coughed out blood as he looked down to see Grand Fisher's fingers stabbing through his right shoulder, his left leg, his left collar bone, and twice on the right side of his gut.

"**HAHAHAHA! You're absolutely pathetic. You all fall for the same trick. All I have to do is show you the face of a loved one and you all immediately crack. It's unbelievable.**" Grand Fisher mocked as he looked at the Namine's looks.

"**Hmm, I wonder if I can find this girl after I finish devouring you. I bet she will be a delightful dish.**" Grand Fisher said in a dark, delighted tone.

**[Bleach Ost: Fade to Black B13a]**

Suddenly it felt something grab his right arm as he was bombarded with an incredibly potent spiritual pressure. He looked down to see Naruto have a gigantic black aura as the boy was looking down at the ground.

'_Do you hear this monster's boasts. He plans to kill you. To rip you into pieces. Will you allow it to happen?_' a voice said.

'_Never._' Naruto replied back.

'_Will you stand for his mockery of Namine's memory. What about his claims to eat her as well?_'

Naruto looked up and Grand Fisher was surprised to see changes in the boy's appearance. His hair was a bit wilder and his whiskers had become more pronounced and feral. His teeth had elongated into fangs. However, it was the eyes that were the most surprising. The sclera was now completely black and his pupils were golden yellow with black pupils.

"He won't get away with this," Naruto muttered as he gripped Grand Fisher's arms even tighter. The hollow was surprised to see the boy actually pull his arms out of him. Just how powerful was this brat?! However, his shock only grew as the wounds began to slowly heal and close.

"**What the hell?! High-speed regeneration. Just what are you boy?!**" Grand Fisher shouted in shock.

Naruto glared intensified as his spiritual pressure increased even more. "I'm gonna kill you."

'_Do you want the power to finish him?_'

'_Give it to me or go away. I have seven other weapons that can do the job._'

'_Settle down, boy. No need to be so demanding. Now channel the darkness and show this abomination our power!_' the voice said in amusement.

Naruto rose his right arm as the palm began to glow an eerie violet and black. Grand Fisher tried to attack Naruto, but Naruto swiped his right arm as a flash covered the two. When the flash cleared, Grand Fisher screeched in pain as he looked at the stump that was once his limb. He glared to see the new weapon in the boy's arm.

The weapon was in the shape of some blade. It had a black handle with a spiral design. The pommel and guard resembled some kind of black, demonic wings. The base between the handle and the blade were in the shape of a goat. At the top of the blade was blue jewel with a slitted eye gazing at him. It was rather unnerving. However, the oddest thing was that the blade resembled a giant...key?

Naruto gave a brief glance to his new weapon before looking at Grand Fisher. "**No Name.**"

'_Now show him your strength._' Naruto immediate struck as he cut off Grand Fisher's other arm. The hollow screeched in pain. Naruto quickly jumped forward and grabbed the doll's face as he glared at her impassive smile. With one swift cut, he destroyed the dolls head and cut the cord connecting it to Grand Fisher.

"**ARRRRRGGHHH! YOU BASTARD CHILD!**" Grand Fisher screeched in anger and pain. Naruto suddenly appeared in front of Grand Fisher as he reared his left fist and swung as he broke right through its teeth and grabbed onto his disgusting, slimy tongue. Naruto then began to pull as Grand Fisher was flailing all over the place. Naruto smirked darkly as he began to see blood pool and a ripping sound could be heard. "You won't ever hurt anyone again," Naruto said in a low tone as he ripped the tongue out.

Grand Fisher vomited gallons of blood as it screamed in agony. Naruto continued to look at the monster with contempt. This monster had killed hundreds of people for nearly fifty years. Many were women and children. It made Naruto want to puke. It was time to end this abomination's existence.

Naruto got on top of Grand Fisher's mouth and opened it wide. "**M-Mercy,**" it begged, but Naruto was having none of that as he raised his other arm with No Heart into its mouth as reishi began to emit from the blade.

"There's no mercy here. And I would never give it to trash like you. **Blade Beam!**" Naruto roared. The blade attack did its job as it ripped off the left side of Grand Fisher's body from the inside out. Several other chunks were sent in several other directions. Naruto let go of the remaining half of Grand Fisher's half as it fell with a loud, squishy thud. Naruto continued to look blankly at the still twitchy remains as the smaller pieces were slowly disintegrating into nothingness.

**[End of theme]**

Naruto felt a sudden chill go down as the area around him began to grow dark. He saw his breath become visible from the drop in temperature. "What-" he began to say as a large pair of doors appeared before him.

They were bright red with bright flame designs adorning the doors. There were two skeletons on each side and in the center with black columns with gold accents connecting the columns on each side.

Naruto looked at the doors in shock as he muttered in a quiet tone. "The Gates of Hell."

He remembered both Aizen and Urahara mentioning them in their lectures. But learning and experiencing them are two very different things. Suddenly a large creek was made as the doors slightly open. Suddenly a large blade came rushing out of the opening as it pierced the remains of Grand Fisher. Naruto watched in morbid fascination as the sword retracted back into the gate with remains of the hollow still on it.

The gates soon closed again and the gates shuddered for a few seconds before shattering into pieces. Everything soon became normal as the rain began pouring on the little blonde once again. Naruto also could not hear the voice from before anymore.

He sighed as he dismissed his new weapon before putting his hands together for a prayer. "May the souls eaten by Grand Fisher finally find peace." Naruto then summoned a dark corridor as he walked in to return to Urahara's shop.

Little did Naruto know was that his battle was being watched by several individuals. Individuals that will affect his life in the coming future.

* * *

[Unknown Location]

"There is a strength to him." an elderly gruff voice said as he rewatched Naruto's fight with Grand Fisher.

"He's still a brat. Look how easily he fell to that trap. A complete Loser." A harsh feminine voice stated as she twirled Foudre in her hands.

"Aw come on. Cut him slack. He was blindsided by that. Plus he didn't let it get to him for long. He pulled off the win and that's what matters, right?" a laid back voice reasoned as he played a light tune on Argeppio.

"He still wasted my guardian in sending those two away and never calling him back." A gruff voice said as he crossed his arms as he looked at the screen in annoyance.

"At least he called you out." mumbled a voice with the silver book in his hands. "Oh lighten up. I'm sure he'll call you next time." the laid back voice said.

"He still let his guard down and let himself get injured with a simple trick. He still needs to be disciplined. Now he has more people that will make him vulnerable." A stoic, cold voice stated.

"All your points are valid. However, we must not be so concerned as of late. The boy is young. Let us allow him to grow on his own. Let us see how far he goes." A deep voice boomed as the others stayed quiet.

"Is it wise? We could make ourselves known to him and train him to become what he must be. A warrior with an unbreakable will with blood as hard as iron, bones as sturdy as steel, and a body of metal. This recent battle shows that he is still mentally and emotionally vulnerable. Something our enemies will take advantage of." A mild gruff voice stated with all six lindworms dancing around him.

"Patience. We have waited for five years. We can wait a few more years. We have all the time in the world. And when that time comes, the boy will know of our existence. It's inevitable." The elderly voice spoke again as he looked at the screen of Naruto destroying Grand Fisher.

"As you wish, Master." the other voices spoke.

* * *

[Urahara's Shop a few Hours Later]

**SMACK!**

"OW!" Naruto howled in pain as held his head where a large lump was forming on top of it. He looked up to glare at the angry scowl of Yoruichi.

"You idiot! What were you thinking of taking on Grand Fisher alone?! Do you know how infamous he is for the number of souls he's devoured?!"

"I had no choice! I couldn't let those two die! It wouldn't be right! You taught me better! Urahara better! To leave them would be spitting on everything you all taught me! I would be no different than Aizen. Not to mention I have handled far worse than that bastard."

Yoruichi glared for several more minutes before sighing and taking a sip of sake she had near her. "Oh kami where did you get this stubbornness from?" she asked herself in a tired tone. Naruto just gave his godmother a slight smirk. "You, Urahara, most of the visoreds, and I have always been like this."

Yoruichi suddenly glomped Naruto in a tight hug. "I am just glad you're okay." Naruto gave an annoyed sighed, but nonetheless smile as he returned the hug. "Thanks, godmother." The two stayed in the hug for a few for minutes before separating.

"How are those two?" Naruto asked in concern. He was worried how Masaki was hit by that pillar of light and lost most of her power. Then there was the kid, Ichigo. Yoruichi giggled at Naruto's concern. He sounded and looked so adorable. "Why don't you come and look for yourself." The two stood and walked into one of the private rooms of the store used to treat the injured. They opened the door to see Masaki seating and talking with Urahara and a man that Naruto believes to be her husband.

"Hello!" Yoruichi cheerfully exclaimed. Everyone turned to see the new pair in the room. The moment Masaki saw Naruto, she dashed towards him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Thank kami you're okay. I was worried sick!" she cried happily. Naruto could not respond as his face turned into different shades of blue as he desperately tried to breathe or escape the woman's monstrous hug. "Masaki, you should let him go, or else you'll suffocate him." the other man said in a joking manner.

Masaki looked down to see Naruto's death-like state. "AH! Gomen, Naruto-kun!" Masaki cried comically as she shook the child in her arms. Naruto eventually got his bearings as he looked at the woman. Of all the ways to nearly die, suffocation from hugs was definitely not on his list. "It's okay." Naruto finally answered.

Naruto turned to the other man "You are…" Naruto began before the man began to chuckle in embarrassment. "Sorry. My name is Isshin Kurosaki. I want to thank you for saving my wife and son, Ichigo."

'_Isshin. Why does that name seem familiar._' Naruto thought as he heard the name before. Suddenly his eyes widen as he recalled that Aizen had mentioned him before. "You're Isshin Shiba, aren't you?" Naruto asked out loud. He briefly saw everyone stiffen before relaxing just as fast. Isshin just gave a boisterous laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about-" Isshin began before Naruto interrupted.

"Look you're a terrible liar. I know your wife saw the hollow. She also tried to form a bow, which makes her a Quincy. Speaking of which!" Naruto shouted as he reared his head as he glared at his godfather, who looked slightly nervous. "You mind telling me why the Kurosaki family were never mentioned in your Quincy lectures on the remaining Quincy family lines?" Naruto asked in a dark tone. Urahara nervously laughed at his godson's glare. "Now. Now. Naruto. You know that would be an invasion of privacy and they wanted to remain secretive from everyone. So I had to respect their wishes." Urahara explained.

Naruto sighed as that explanation make some sense, but something was still off. He turned it Masaki with his next question. "What is the Auswahlen Light?" he asked.

Once more everyone stiffens. "What?" Isshin and Masaki asked as they hoped playing dumb would placate the boy. They were terribly wrong as everyone felt Naruto's reiatsu began to be released as he was enveloped in a black aura. "Don't play dumb with me! I am not that gullible!" Naruto roared as Guardian appeared above him with the entire building shaking and cracks appearing below Naruto. Masaki and Isshin were completely shocked at Naruto's reiatsu.

Urahara quickly jumped in front of Naruto as he began waving his hands as Yoruichi hugged Naruto from behind. "Woah! Woah! Woah! Calm down Naruto. No need to get upset." Kisuke assured as he tried to calm his godson's anger. Both knew how Naruto hated to be tried like a naive child. Naruto continued to glare at everyone for a few minutes. Everyone sigh in relief as Naruto relax as his reiatsu disappeared along with Guardian. He looked at Urahara with a serious gaze. "Masaki said that her bastard king has made his selections for his army. What did she mean?"

Everyone sighed. "Oh boy," Isshin said in exasperation. Masaki blushed in embarrassment as everyone looked towards her. All she could do was laugh nervously as she scratched the back of her head. "Sorry." she meekly said. Everyone shook their head as they did not blame her. Hell, the only reason she was alive was thanks to Naruto being there at the right place at the right time. He at least deserved to know as he would not stop trying to find the answer on his own.

Urahara turned to Naruto. "Okay, this what I know Naruto." thus Urahara began to explain most of the important details he left out about the Quincy. All Quincy lines come from a single individual. This individual was Yhwach. Over a thousand years ago a war erupted between Yhwach and his army against the first incarnation of the Gotei 13 with Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto leading them. At the climax, Yamamoto released his Bankai and supposedly killed him. However, Yhwach managed to hide and went into a long sleep to recuperate his powers. As the years went on, a poem was passed through the Quincy. The poem referred to him as _The Sealed King_ and went as follows:

_After 900 years of being sealed, he would regain his pulse;_

_After another 90, he would regain his intellect;_

_And after 9 more years, he would absorb the power of every "impure" Quincy to make their abilities his own. _

The last line describes the Auswahlen Light. It's Yhwach making his selection of who he sees as true Quincy and would serve in his army. Those that he sees as unworthy or impure are known as Gemischt have their power stripped as he absorbs them to further his power returning and his inevitable resurrection. The Quincy who have their powers taken are left vulnerable and can die if left alone or in Masaki's case, attacked by a Hollow. The ones that survive are who he considers as worthy, and pure or Echt. That is what happened to Masaki. She will be able to get some of her powers back in time, but they will not be as powerful. Urahara explained he has been working to help speed up her powers return, but that will still take time. By the end of the explaining, Naruto sighed in exasperation as he dragged his hands over his face. "Just great, another psycho to worry about," Naruto muttered before he suddenly had an epiphany. "Wait, wouldn't that make Ichigo a Shinigami-Quincy Hybrid?"

Naruto noticed how everyone was shifting uneasily. "Not exactly. It's a lot more complicated." Misaki said as she and Isshin take turns explaining how they and eventually got together and had Ichigo. Naruto was gaping for a few seconds before finding his voice again. "So Ichigo has the potential to have the powers of a shinigami, hollow, and Quincy." Everyone nodded. "Not only that but also combine them to create an even greater power that has never been seen before?" Naruto asked.

"Well technically, I am not sure if he would have access to his Quincy heritage, but he did then yes he would be," Masaki explained as Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. This day was bringing out more and more surprises. Naruto looked up to Masaki. "Then why doesn't he know the difference between living people and dead souls?" as that had been bothering Naruto. If his parents knew about spirits, then why couldn't Ichigo tell the difference between the living and deceased spirits?

"We haven't kept track of him becoming spiritually aware. It's only now that we see how well he can see them." Masaki explained as Naruto nodded as that made sense. "So how will train him?" Naruto asked in a curious tone as he wondered how they plan to train the boy and how they would take into consideration how his powers would develop. Masaki and Isshin blinked in confusion. "Huh?" they asked. Naruto frowned. "You heard me. He has unrivaled potential compared to any other shinigami in existence, how do you plan to train him?"

Masaki and Isshin looked straight at Naruto. "That's just it. We don't want him to train." Isshin firmly said. Everyone felt the temperature of the room drop. "Excuse me?" he asked quietly, "I think I may have misheard you. I thought you just said you don't want him to train." Naruto said as he looked at the two. "You heard right," Masaki replied. Once more Naruto released his reiatsu as his black once more covered him, but this time the guardian did not come out. "WHAT THE FUCK YOU MEAN YOU WON'T TRAIN HIM?!" Naruto roared. Kisuke quickly grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "Easy Naruto," Kisuke emphasized as he tried to get his godson to relax. Naruto breathed slowly as he glared at the two Kurosaki. "Explain," he demanded.

Masaki and Isshin gulped slightly at Naruto's glare before Isshin spoke up. "This battle is between the shinigami and Aizen and his hollows and later Yhwach and his army. It's a battle that shouldn't children." Both parents got nervous as they saw Naruto growl at them, but thankfully Urahara and Yoruichi were calming him down. "Isshin. That excuse went out the window when you decided to knock up Masaki! The hollow you saved her from went to your son. He's basically Aizen's long-term experiment in creating a super soldier. Do you think he would let that go? I wouldn't be surprised if he had something to do with Grand Fisher making an appearance." Naruto argued as it was odd to see Grand Fisher at such a far off location from where he usually hunts.

"Let's not forget the Gotei 13 and Central 46? Look what they were going to the Visored, Tessai, and Urahara. What do you think they will do when they find out about his existence?" Naruto asked as Isshin narrowed his eyes at him.

"That's why he needs to stay in hiding and live a normal life," Isshin argued. Naruto scoffed. "You act as if you would be able to control everything Ichigo will do. One day he will come in contact with another Hollow or maybe a shinigami, or maybe fails to save someone and that will drive him to get stronger. If you trying to control how his life goes, that's not parenting. And that makes both of you no different than what Aizen did to me." Naruto accused. Suddenly felt himself be hoisted up by an enraged Isshin "How dare you?! We nothing like that man!" Isshin growled at Naruto's face who was unaffected by Isshin's intimidation act.

"ISSHIN PUT HIM DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Masaki screamed as Isshin's eyes widen as he realized what he was doing. He quickly let Naruto offered an apology. Naruto sighed and said he deserved it for taking it too far. Isshin couldn't help but flinch at the glares Urahara and Yoruichi were giving him. "I tread carefully about trying that again," Yoruichi warned.

"There's one more thing Isshin, Masaki." Naruto began again. "You said Yhwach was rising again. That he's a fascist leader and only wants the pure Quincy to live on. He probably sees Ichigo as an abomination. But he was not hit by the Auswahlen light. Why?" Naruto asked as no one could answer as they had no idea either.

Naruto answered. "Its because he sees a potential pawn to use. Let's not forget about your two daughters that are also hybrids. Do you think he'll let them go? NO! He'll use them and if they won't submit to him, he'll kill them as well. Need I remind you Masaki, the only reason you survived the purge is because I managed to save you before you lost a chunk of your flesh to Grand Fisher?" Masaki and Isshin flinched as they knew Naruo was right, despite them wishing it was not. Aizen would let Ichigo go so easily and neither would Yhwach. Urahara and Yoruichi had suspected Yhwach may try to use the three children as his pawns. Hell, he could see Yhwach using the girls to get Ichigo to obey his commands.

Masaki spoke up this time. "You right. But we don't want him to get involved in this. It's our job as parents to keep him from those dangers. When he's ready, we will tell him everything so that he can understand. Please understand that all a parent wants to do is keep their children safe. So that is what we will do until we can't." Misaki said though she did not sound as convinced as before.

Naruto glared before scoffing. "Well isn't Ichigo lucky? Unfortunately, I have never had parents so I don't understand. My only guardians died in a fire before I was abducted by Aizen and made into his lab rat." Naruto replied in a bitter and envious tone. Masaki and Isshin flinched for opening up some old wounds in the young boy.

"Sorry," they said in unison. Naruto shook his head. "Forget it. I am used to it. Besides, I now have those two sadists for godparents now." Urahara and Yoruichi ruffled his hair causing him to groan slightly as they chuckled in amusement.

Masaki felt her heart go out for the boy. Naruto had never known what it meant to have a loving family waiting for you. Aizen had nearly stripped this boy of all his innocence for his own agenda. Urahara and Yoruichi can only do so much to help heal the scars. Naruto needs something more in his life. She wanted to help him in some way especially after he risked his life to save her. If only she could….Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head as she now had a brilliant idea to implement.

"I have made up my mind." Maskai declared as she slowly got up to her feet. Isshin held onto her as she walked her way towards Naruto. "I will compromise with you Naruto." Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How?"

"We will teach the basics of sensing, hakuda, and zanjutsu to Ichigo." Everyone looked at Masaki in confusion. "How would you do that?" Naruto asked as they wanted to keep away from all this. How would he teach him all this while keeping him in the dark? "Well, Ichigo is in a karate class. I'm sure Yoruichi could enroll as a teacher and help teach him and everyone else the basics of the form and this would help us keep track of any other spiritual aware humans. We also can add meditation classes to help keep himself in control and start the foundation for sensing and using his reiatsu."

Masaki then turned to the Flash Goddess. "If you don't mind, Yoruichi?" she asked in a slightly embarrassed tone as this would depend on her agreeing to it. Yoruichi hummed as she scratched her chin before shrugging, "Hmmm, sure why not. At least that will keep busy for these upcoming years besides privately training Naruto." everyone sweatdrops at her response.

'_So easy going._' everyone thought. Naruto shook his head as looks at Masaki. "What do I get out of this?" Masaki gave a cheeky smile as she raised two fingers. "One, you'll be able to keep an eye on Ichigo and anyone else that may be spiritually aware." Naruto continued to stare at Masaki. "Okay," he drawled out slowly. "And the second thing I get out of this?" Masaki responded by giving him a big smile.

"Well you become part of our family of course!" she cheerfully exclaimed.

…..

….

….

….

"Huh?" a stun Naruto asked as he voiced everyone else's thoughts.

"It's simple," Masaki said with a wide smile. "We adopt you and you can keep an eye on Ichigo until he develops as a shinigami and we can decide when to tell him everything."

Naruto looked utterly stunned while Isshin was actually nodding in agreement. He turned to see what Urahara and Yoruichi were also looking very interested in the idea. He turned back to Masaki in confusion. "Why would you want to adopt me?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. Why was Masaki so adamant about this? Masaki crouched down to see Naruto nearly eye to eye. "Because Naruto you need a family. You have been so alone for such a long time. You deserve it. Plus you need to socialize with kids your age. Not to mention get an education."

**[KH OST: Dearly Beloved (BBS)]**

"She does make excellent points Naruto." Urahara chirped happily. Naruto frowned as he looked down. "Are you sure you want someone like me there?" Naruto asked in a tone. He wasn't exactly the purest or nice child. Would they want their kids exposed to someone like him? Suddenly he felt soft hands on his cheeks as they raised his head to see Masaki giving him a heartwarming smile. "All I see is a little boy that deserves to have a loving family to go home to."

"So what do you say, Naruto?" Isshin asked as crouched right next to Misaki and gave a similar smile to Naruto. Naruto looked back to see Urahara and Yoruichi giving him encouraging looks. He gave Maskai a small smile. "Alright, Masaki." Masaki then glomped Naruto in a soft, but firm hug. "Its Kaasan now, Naruto," she said in a resolute tone.

Naruto choked as tried to bring the words out. "Hai, k-k-kaa-san." Naruto blushed a bit at the unfamiliar world. Masaki giggled at his uneasiness as she scratched his whiskers which caused him to purr in content. Masaki couldn't help but squeal in enjoyment. "So cute!" as she held Naruto even tighter with Isshin joining in.

"Let me go!" Naruto cried in exasperation as tried to escape his new parent's fierce hug with his godparents watching in amusement. After getting Masaki and Isshin to let go before Isshin spoke up again. "Well then let's introduce you to your siblings!" he cheerfully said as the two led Naruto to his new family with him being rather nervous if they would accept him.

When they slid a door open, Naruto heard two distinct girls and one boy shout. "Kaasan/Tousan!" Naruto looked as Masaki and Isshin gave their three children a big family. They looked like a happy family…..no his family. '_This will take some time._' Naruto thought to himself. The three children soon took notice of the additional person in the room. "Who is this?" the young girl, with light blonde hair asked in a curious tone. The other girl with black hair also looked just as curious along with Ichigo.

"He looks funny," Karin said bluntly and caused Naruto to sweatdrop as he dropped his head. Masaki and Isshin giggled in amusement. "Now. Now. That is no way to talk to your new brother." Isshin lectured.

"EEEEEEHHHHHHH?!" all three children shouted in shock as they looked at Naruto in a new light."That's right. Kids meet your new brother, Naruto Kurosaki."

Naruto felt a little self-conscious at all the starring of his new siblings. "H-H-Hello," he said nervously as he gave a slight wave. Suddenly Naruto was glomped by the twin girls.

"Yay!" the two girls shouted. "We have a new brother!" the blonde girl cheered happily. The black haired girl turned to Ichigo who was still standing in shock. "Ichi-nii say hello!" Ichigo was snapped out of his shock as he walked toward as Naruto stood up. The two looked at one another before Ichigo broke the silence. "Thank you," Ichigo said. Naruto raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Mom told me how you rescued the two of us. That was really brave." Naruto looked at Masaki as she gave a wink. Naruto snorted before refocusing on Ichigo. "It was nothing." Ichigo shook his head. "It is. Also, I'm sorry. I was the one that went running after the ghost. My parents explained it to me. If I had been more careful, this wouldn't have happened. You or mom could have gotten hurt and-OW!" Ichigo was ranting until he was stopped by a flick to the head by Naruto.

Naruto gave him a mild glare. "You were annoying. I don't blame you for what happened and no one else does. Learn from this mistake and get stronger so you don't make the mistake again. That is what your name means right? You are a protector. So become one." Naruto lectured. Ichigo looked at his new brother before laughing out loud. Naruto looked confused at what was so funny. "Heh, sorry. It's just you already sound like the smart older brother." Ichigo explained. Naruto blushed as he turns his head to the side in embarrassment. "Shut up," Naruto muttered.

The two heard a cough as they looked to see Isshin and Masaki gushing at the interaction. "Now then why don't you properly introduce yourselves." Isshin offered.

The two boys looked at one another as Ichigo offered his hand. "Nice to meet you, nii-san. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo said in a cheerful tone and cheeky smile.

Naruto smiled. Things were looking up as he shook Ichigo's hand. "Hello, Ichigo, my name is Naruto...Naruto Kurosaki."

* * *

_**Finally, I hope you guys like the chapter. I wanted to get through all this as soon as possible so we can get to the good stuff. The canon material. I will say I will not go over every canon event. They will mostly be summarized, but I will highlight specific events. Yelp Masaki lives in this fic! That would be one of the few changes I have made. There will be other changes, but you will have to wait and see.**_

_**I hope you guys liked the battle with Grand Fisher. To be honest, I had a bit of trouble with this fight. the reason being I was not sure how the fight should last. I went back and forth with this fight three different times. The first one was a bit too long and made Naruto a bit too weak. I mean Grand Fisher was infamous, but he was not anywhere near menos level. The second one made it far to easy in my opinion as I wanted Naruto to struggle a bit to show that he won't win every fight easily. Its to show he is still vulnerable in some ways. I hope the final version appeased everyone. **_

_**Ichigo will learn about his heritage earlier as can we all agree should have learned after the Soul Society Arc. At least that his dad was shinigami. Seriously, I love Isshin but he dropped the ball. So I hope you guys liked the foreshadowing I have made for future events. Things will get crazy as the story continues. See you soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hello Everyone! Welcome to the next installment of MON. Now originally, I was planning to show the events of the anime/manga and how they were slightly different now with Naruto now being thrown into the mix. But this proved to be rather tedious and slowed the chapter down to a crawl. So I decided to scrap and jump into what everyone was looking forward to. **_

_**I hope some of you don't mind this and I promise that I will elaborate on some of those events later down the road. However, we will see some changes to the story thanks to Naruto's presence in this chapter. Now then hope you enjoy the chapter and Happy Halloween!**_

* * *

_**Getting Acquainted with Everyone**_

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch as he slashed through another hollow that tried to sneak attack him. Why was Naruto was so annoyed? Three simple words. Ichigo and Uryuu. "When I get my hands on those two, they'll wish they were never born. I'll break them as I did to those bastards that kidnapped Ichigo and Chad!" Naruto growled.

Now the reason why Naruto so angry begins a few days ago. You see Ichigo and Rukia were going on their routine patrols for hollows, but for some reason the hollows they were hunting kept disappearing just as they appeared in the area. This continued to happen for two days of patrol, something that annoyed them something fierce as Naruto heard their angry mutterings from his room.

Naruto had a feeling who was responsible and one trip to Ryuken and Kanae confirmed that it was, in fact, Uryuu doing this. Normally, Ryuken wanted nothing to do with anyone from the Kurosaki family but considering that Naruto indirectly saved his wife thanks to saving Masaki and causing Urahara to check up on the Ishida household. Thanks to his indirect intervention, Ryuken has allowed Naruto into his household, if reluctantly.

Despite everything Kanae tried, Uryuu still had an utter hatred for the shinigami for failing to save his grandfather when he was ambushed by a herd of hollows. Ryuken was not of much help as he had renounced his Quincy heritage as he saw that nothing good came from it. Though Naruto could hardly argue with Ryuken's logic, despite how twisted he says them, especially to Uryuu. Thankfully Kanae was there to keep him from being an absolute block of ice to Uryuu.

Those years of bitter resentment finally came out of Uryuu when he challenged Ichigo to fight to see who could defeat the largest number of hollows. Now, this wouldn't have worried Naruto much, especially since Ichigo wasn't one for picking fights. Unfortunately, Uryuu knew what buttons to push to get Ichigo riled up. He had to shake his head at his brother's antics, but then Uryuu took things too far. That idiot had the nerve to use a hollow bait to attract hundreds of hollows into the entire city!

Now everyone was busting their asses to get things under control. Kanae swore she was going to discipline Uryuu for this. She, Ryuken, Masaki, Urahara, Tessai, and Yoruichi were probably spread out to different areas of the city to minimize the hollow attacks as much as possible. However, what currently worried Naruto were his sisters. Yuzu and Karin already had minor spiritual awareness to see/feel ghosts, Naruto knew his and Ichigo's high spiritual power will affect the girls and increase their own powers.

This increase in their power and awareness would also lead to hollows getting attracted to their spiritual powers. Which is why he was heading towards his sisters' location. His amazing sensory abilities easily allowed him to find them at a local park, but he also felt other signatures.

Spiritual signatures that he easily recognized. Chad, Tatsuki, and Orihime. He could feel their spiritual energies spiked to unprecedented levels. '_They must have awakened their own powers. I need to see where they are._' Naruto paused as he sensed the locations of his friends. '_Hmm. Chad is with Yuzu and Karin. Well, that makes things easier. And Tatsuki and Orihime are together. Finally, Ichigo and Uryuu are near the town square._'

Naruto decided to head to Chad's location first as he was the most vulnerable, especially with him probably trying to protect Yuzu and Karin. '_**Guardian** go to Orihime and Tatsuki!_' Naruto commanded as his shadow shifted before a dark glob flew out and went into the distance while Naruto disappeared in a blur.

Naruto quickly appeared at the park the girls love to go to and saw something surprising. Yuzu and Karin were done below looking shocked, scared, and amazed. A few feet from them was Chad as he looked down at the dissolving form of a hollow. Its Chad's arm that got Naruto's attention. It was completely black in color and a red line going down the middle of the arm. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Chad's transformed appendage. '_Hmm. So this is Chad's power. He was always proud of those arms along with that medallion._'

Naruto had to bite back a laugh as Chad gives the girls a thumbs-up when they asked if he was okay. He could just tell from Karin's face she was not amused. Chad immediately fell over from exhaustion from using his powers for the first time as the girls go over to him. Suddenly several hollows surrounded them and Naruto decided he watched enough.

Karin and Yuzu were completely terrified as Chad was nearly out cold and they were sitting ducks. The monsters surrounding them looked ready to devour them. Then the monsters screeched in pain as they were all pierced by six oddly shaped lances.

The monsters fell to the ground as they dissolved away. The girls and a semi-conscious Chad turned to see Naruto standing a few feet away from them with hood up to conceal his identity. "Are you three okay?" he calmly asked.

Karin, Yuzu, and Chad all nodded. "Yes. Thank you for saving us, mister." Yuzu bowed appreciation. Naruto nodded before turning to his downed friend. "How are you, Chad?"

Chad grunted. "Tired." the giant of a teen then blinked before turning to Naruto. "How do you know my name?"

Naruto sighed as he turned to leave. "You will know eventually, but I need to go. There are others that need my help."

Naruto was walking away when Yuzu shouted, "WAIT!" he paused as he glanced back to her. "Are you Naruto-nii?" Naruto froze as his eyes widen at the question. How could she know?! Naruto kept quiet as he mentally debated what he should do. Karin was growing impatient with his silence and spoke up, "Come on! Answer us Nii-san! We deserve an answer."

The blonde Kurosaki mentally debated on what to do. If he did this, he knew it would mean bringing his sisters into a life he did not want them to be a part of. A life his parents tried their best to keep them away from. But he knew keeping secrets won't always protect someone. And if he says nothing, he could destroy any trust/bond his sisters had for him.

After what felt like several minutes of mentally debating the pros and cons, Naruto came to a decision. He sighed as he grabbed his hood and lowered it to reveal his face. The three felt their eyes widen in shock "Nii-san." the two girls whispered in unison.

They were about to speak again, but Naruto raised his hand to stop them. "Look. I know you want answers, but I can't give them to you right now. But you will get them, but know this if you do your lives will not be the same. Do you still want to proceed."

The two girls looked at one another, but Chad just looking at him. He already knew Chad's answer. The two girls turned back to the blonde. "Yes. Please, Naruto-nii."

Naruto nodded as he created two clones of himself. "Nii-san multiplied?!" the two girls exclaimed in shock and amazement. "I must be delirious. I am seeing two Naruto." a rather calm, but panic Chad muttered. Naruto chuckled at their actions before turning to his clones. "Take them to Urahara." his two clones nodded. "Right."

"Naruto-nii, what about Ichigo-nii? Does he know about this?" Yuzu asked.

"Naruto. What have you and Ichigo been hiding." Chad asked with a frown on his face. Naruto sighed. He knew they had a lot of questions, but his clones and Urahara can handle all of that. He had more pressing issues to deal with. "Like I said. You'll learn the truth once you get to a safe location."

Yuzu and Karin looked at him with pleading eyes. "Promise?" Naruo raised his pinky as them. "I pinky promise." he cheerfully promised before disappearing in a corridor of darkness.

"Baka." Karin and Yuzu said with slight embarrassment.

* * *

Naruto appeared near his school and quickly found Orihime and Tatsuki. Orihime had six lights flying around her. Tatsuki had orange flames covering her fists and a flame on her forehead.

Naruto sighed as he knew the fire he was going to start. "Are you two okay?" The two girls whirled around, ready to fight again, but were surprised at seeing the last person they expected to see. "NARUTO?!"

Naruto was about to speak, but freezes as he feels an incredible powerful reishi oozing out of the giant cracks in the sky. He turns to the two girls. "Look I know you have questions, but I can't answer them. I need to get you to safety and I promise you'll get your answers."

The two girls looked at another before looking back at Naruto. Tatsuki narrowed her eyes as she stomped towards Naruto before stopping when she's right in front of him "You better or else I will have to beat it out of you." Naruto chuckled as Orihime came forward and he grabbed the two as they all disappeared in a corridor of darkness.

* * *

[Meanwhile at the Time Square, a few minutes later]

The cracks from the sky enlarged as a large white hand appeared and pulled the sky away as a massive hollow appeared. It was several meters tall and its body was completely black with a large hole at the center of its chest. It had a plain white mask with a large pointy nose and two small red beady eyes. The hollow took one step into the human world as the ground shook as the earth was embedded by its foot.

Kon, in Ichigo's body, looked at the new hollow in complete shock. "What is that? How can there be a hollow so big?" he mutters in shock. He turns to see Rukia looking completely terrified. "Impossible. That's a Menos Grande. Gigantic hollows that live in the world of the hollows. I have never seen one up close like this except for descriptions in books. We can't handle something like this. You need to be at least the level of a lieutenant to even handle a hollow of this caliber."

"Rukia look!" Rukia looked down to see Ichigo and Uryuu running to the Gillian. "Ichigo?!" she exclaims before her eyes narrowed in anger. "That idiot." she turned to go after him, but she soon found herself staring at Urahara's impassive face. "Stop," he ordered.

"Why are you stopping me, Urahara? Ichigo is going to get himself killed. He's supposed to be your godson, right? Something you never bothered sharing until recently. Now, are you going to let him die." Urahara merely waved his fan in a placating manner. "Have faith Rukia and let events play out."

"I am not going to let Ichigo get himself killed?!" She exclaimed before she felt her body completely freeze. 'A kido spell?!' she fell helplessly to her knees as she looked at Ichigo and Uryuu approaching the Menos.

"Just sit and watch Rukia. You're in for a surprise." Urahara replied. "Bastard," she muttered. They were all going to get killed.

"Ideas on how to handle this thing?" Ichigo asked his unexpected companion.

"I may have an idea," Uryuu replied. Ichigo was about to ask when he noticed that Uryuu's bow had nearly tripled in size! "How the hell did your bow get so big?!"

"I absorbed the reishi your sword was emitting. You have to channel your spiritual energy through your blade. I can use the excess energy to fire an overcharged shot at that thing's mask and hopefully shatter it to pieces."

Ichigo scowled as the plan had merit, but there was one flaw to it. Himself. "One problem with this plan. I barely have any control of my spiritual energy. If I push too much through I could easily blow your arms right off their sockets."

Uryuu shook his head. "Don't worry. I just need you to relax and just send me as little reishi as you can. The smallest amount. Since a small portion from you can be humongous for me." as he gestures to his bow.

Ichigo sighed "Alright," as he grasped his zanpakuto with both arms and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Hello, Ichigo. It's good to see you again." Ichigo finds himself in a familiar place of his inner world with a familiar face to greet him. "Old man."

"You require my assistance?"

"Yes, I do. I need help. Uryuu is asking me to lend him some of my power, but I have never been good at controlling my spiritual power."

"And you fear that you hurt your friend with your power?" Ichigo nodded as he looked down. He hated asking for help as he felt that made feel weak. That he couldn't do anything on his own. "Ichigo. It's not a sin to have fear. It's not a weakness to seek help. It is a weakness to let that fear consume you, Ichigo."

"What are you asking me, old man?"

"I can lend you my strength Ichigo. I can help control your power, so your friend is not hurt. But I need to know one thing. Do you trust me, Ichigo? Will you allow me to help you in this battle?"

Ichigo had to pause. Did he trust the old man? He had no idea who he really was. He suddenly appeared in his inner world one day after a long day of hunting hollows. When he closed his eyes to go to sleep, he would himself in his inner world along with the old man here.

* * *

[Flashback]

_"WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE AM I?!" Ichigo comically screamed as he latched himself onto the ledges of the building he was on._

_"Calm yourself, Ichigo." Ichigo turned to the older gentlemen. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR-mind?" Ichigo shouted, but then stopped when he noticed something. The man was standing perfectly still on a pole. 'How is he able to stand a pole like that?'_

_"Stand up Ichigo." Ichigo blinked before slowly doing as the man asked him. He had no idea why, but he could tell the man meant no harm to him. Ichigo looked around to see everything was sideways, which would somewhat explain how he could be standing at the moment. "Where am I? And who are you?"_

_"We are in your inner world. A reflection of your soul. As for me, I am Z~~~~."_

_"What?" Ichigo asked. He couldn't understand the last word the old man said. The man looked rather disappointed as he looked down. "I see. Are you still not ready to hear my name?"_

_"Sorry." Ichigo did not know why he was apologizing, but he felt like he should. The old man sighed as he looked back at Ichigo. "Regardless, I have called you here for a reason."_

_Ichigo straightens up when he heard this. "You are progressing well with your duties as a Shinigami. Your training and meditation from your classes have helped create a foundation for your spiritual abilities."_

_At Ichigo's glance, the old man decided to elaborate. "Your kendo lessons gave you the basis for wielding your zanpakuto. And your meditation helped you balance your soul and helped you achieve a basic grasp of your reishi and to use it._

_"So what do you plan to do, old man?" Ichigo asked. "Summon your blade, Ichigo." the ginger teenage blinked in confusion. "What?"_

_"Do not stand there. Now summon your blade!" he snapped. "Alright! Alright!"_

_Ichigo sighed as he closed his eyes and stretched out his dominant hand. "Focus your spiritual energy Ichigo. Connect to your reiryoku and drag it out from its source and picture it into the shape of your blade."_

_Ichigo breathed in and exhaled as he searched deep within himself for the source of his power. As he searched the deep reaches of his soul he felt a tug to his search. He immersed himself into the tug as he felt himself become enveloped in power similar to what he felt when he first got his powers from Rukia._

_He pulled at the power as he pictured it into the shape of his zanpakuto. When Ichigo opened his eyes, he found himself staring as his huge zanpakuto. The ginger head shinigami turn back to the older man, who nodded._

_"Good. Your ease at summoning your blade shows your connection is strong despite the circumstances of how you gained your powers."_

_"What now." The old man then summoned a black blade to his right hand. It was not as big Ichigo's, but it was around the length of a daito blade. "Now I train you to properly wield your zanpakuto."_

_Ichigo smirked as he got into a battle stance. "Then bring it, old man!"_

_[Flashback End]_

* * *

From that day forward, the old man would help Ichigo every night. The two would always be sparring as he lectured Ichigo on how to fight with his blade. The two would even trade ideas for battle tactics and even discuss their hobbies and dislikes. Did Ichigo trust him? There was only one answer to that question. Ichigo opened his eyes. "I trust you old man."

"Then let us do this ...together."

* * *

Back in the outside world, Ichigo's body was wrapped in a dense layer of his spiritual energy. "That's it Ichigo. Keep pouring as much as possible!" Uryuu proclaimed as he absorbed as much reishi as his hands could handle as he condensed all of it into the biggest arrow he could form on his already enlarged bow.

The Menos had opened its maw as a condensed red sphere of reishi began to form. Rukia's eyes widen in horrific realization. "A cero?! A hollow flash of that magnitude could level a portion of this town."

The menos fired the giant sphere of destruction. Ichigo opened his eyes as he glared at the incoming attack. "Now or never Uryuu!" Uryuu roared as he released a massive arrow to the cero. The condensed arrow ripped right through the sphere and pierced through the top half of the Gillian's mask.

"We got it. Argh!" Uryuu looked down to see his arms were red and steaming with blisters forming all over them, '_Ichigo's reiatsu actually burned my arms._' The two were cut from their victory when the saw the still living menos charging up another cero. "Oh no, it's going to fire the cero!" Ichigo cursed as he rushed forward. "Ichigo WAIT!" Uryuu called but Ichigo ignored him as the second cero was launched and Ichigo used his blade to hold back the attack. Ichigo grunted as he fell to his knees as the ground beneath him crumbled to bits.

'_Ichigo, you told me you barely had any control of your reiatsu. But that's not exactly true. You have some control. The problem is that you have too much reiryoku. Your huge capacity makes it impossible for your current self to properly control it. Because of that most of your power is always bottled up due to your lack of control. But you showed some control, and if someone of your caliber were to be pushed to the edge then your survival injects will kick in and…._'

'_Stand up, Ichigo. Do you plan to fall to a mindless doll of destruction like that._'

'_No way in hell!_'

'_Then stand up and unleash our power!_'

"**ZAN!**" Ichigo roared as Ichigo sent a condensed slash of reishi that ripped through the cero and Rukia could not believe her eyes. "He injured the Menos Grande," she muttered in a stunned tone. Urahara had a huge smirk on his lips.

"We did it." Ichigo panted. '_Indeed. And you managed to hear part of my name. Soon you'll be able to hear my full name._' the old man replied. "I promise. I'll learn your name, old man." Ichigo swore.

Unbeknownst to Ichigo, the old man had a small smile curled upon his lips. '_I know you will._' Ichigo sighed as he turned to his reluctant ally. "Hey, Uryuu, we won." Uryuu snorted as he sat on the ground. "Yeah, we did it."

The two paused as they turned to see the menos was still alive. "WHAT THE HELL?! IT'S STILL ALIVE?!" Ichigo complained. Uryuu swore under his breath. "Damn it. You're cut wasn't deep enough. And my arrow didn't destroy enough of the mask!"

Suddenly the hole that the menos came in, enlarged as two more came out of it. "Oh great. Now there's three." The three menos looked towards something ahead of them. Ichigo and Uryuu turned to see what they were looking at and were shocked at what they were seeing. Or to be more precise, who they were seeing.

"Is that your brother?!" Uryuu exclaimed. "It is! What the hell?!" Ichigo paused as he recognized what Naruto was wearing. "Wait! He's wearing that same cloak that the guy from a few days ago was wearing."

"What do you mean?" "Ichigo turned to Uryuu. "I mean a guy wearing that cloak came in and saved Chad and Rukia when we were dealing with a real bastard of a hollow that put a child's soul inside of a bird. Which means he's known about being me being a substitute shinigami from the gekko."

"I'm sure you'll get your answers once this is all over." The two teens then noticed that the three menos opened their jaws as a familiar red sphere began to form once again. "They're all charging ceros!" Ichigo then turned to Naruto. "Oi! If you're going to do something Naruto! Now's the time!"

Naruto smirked as he saw the three gillians charge up their signature attack.s "Let's see what you mine rejects got." Naruto raised his right hand and pointed his index finger and thumb up, almost as if he was holding a gun. An orb of spiritual energy began to form on the tip of his finger as it grew to envelop nearly half of Naruto's body. "That's an incredible amount of reiatsu I'm sensing."

"**EAT THIS YOU BASTARDS! REIGUN (SPIRIT GUN)!**" Naruto roared as he launched the blast just as the three menos fired their ceros. The spirit gun traveled at incredible speeds and reached the three ceros in just a few seconds. It right through the three hollow flashes and kept traveling until it reached the three menos and completely enveloped the heads in a brilliant explosion.

All three of the menos lost their heads as their bodies began to fall as they dissolve into nothingness. Rukia, Kon, Ichigo, and Uryuu were completely stunned at what they just saw, while Urahara just had a large smile on his lips as he waved his fan happily.

"N-No way…" Rukia began

"He destroyed all of the menos…." Uryuu continued.

"In one move." Ichigo finished. Naruto disappeared in a blur before reappearing in front of Ichigo and Uryuu.

"Hey, Ichigo." Naruto greeted cheerfully before smacking his brother and Uryuu over the head. "Ow!" Ichigo cried as he clutched his head. "What the hell?!" Ichigo's anger dissipated as he saw the malicious smile on his brother's face. "I am going to have a LONG talk with you two on taking this little competition too far." Ichigo and Uryuu gulped in fear.

Urahara sighed as he saw Naruto lecturing the two. It was time to head home. He turned around as he canceled the kido spell that was holding Rukia down. "More than likely they'll know about this incident." were the Urahara's last words as he disappeared. Rukia looked down in concern as she thought over what she should do.

* * *

[Seireitei]

"Why have we all been summoned here. It's highly unusual to have all the captains available unless something serious has happened." Aizen, captain of squad five, wondered out loud.

"I am more surprised we have all the lieutenants here as well. Usually, we have our meetings separate." Hisagi, the lieutenant of squad nine, said.

"I believe we would not have been called here without a good reason." Tousen, captain of squad nine, replied.

"I could care less. I was the middle of a good work out. Whatever happened better be interesting. Maybe we found an enemy we could fight." Kenpachi complained.

"Always thinking of a fight Kenpachi," Komamura replied. The one-eyed captain turned to the seventh captain. "Better than standing idly by like a statue."

"My. My. Always itching for a fight." another voice teased. Kenpachi turned to glare at the speaker. "You got something to say to me, Ichimaro."

"Ichimaru-taichou." Kira, Gin Ichimaro's lieutenant, said in concern. "Uh-oh, the captains are bickering again. Aizen-taicho, shouldn't we stop them." Momo, the fifth lieutenant, asked her captain.

"Sadly, Momo-chan. These tend to happen all the time. It's best to ignore them until they cool off." Aizen replied.

Kenpachi whirled around to glare at Aizen."What was that Aizen?!"

Momo squeaked in fear as she hid behind her captain. Aizen merely raised his hands in a calming manner. "Now. Now, Kenpachi. There's no need to get angry."

"Good lord, can't you old men get along." the tenth captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya, groaned in annoyance. "What was that brat?!" Kenpachi roared.

Komamura sighed in annoyance."Here we go again."

"It's always like this." Soifon, squad two's captain, muttered in annoyance.

"Can't we do anything?" Momo asked in concern. "It would be easier to stay out of this, Momo." Renji, squad six lieutenant, answered. "But Renji-"

Any further comment was halted as a wooden staff stomped the matted floor. "ENOUGH!" a booming, elderly voice ordered. The captains and lieutenants stopped their chatter as the head captain, Genryusai Yamamoto Shigekuni, demanded order.

"I will now explain the reason for this reason. Step forward Mayuri-taicho." The twelfth captain walked forward to the center of the meeting room. "I have recently got a distress message from my recon team in the human world."

This raised a few eyebrows. The human world was rather tranquil except for the sporadic hollows entering an inhabited area. What could cause a distress message to be sent? "Apparently a large herd of hollows converged in the town of Karakura." Mayuri casually said.

This raised concern for the shinigami in the room. Karakura was currently the largest location of spiritual activity. For large masses of hollow to suddenly appear, what could have caused this?

"What caused them to converge?" Kyoraku, the eighth squad captain, asked. Mayuri shrugged. "That has not been determined, but that is not the most interesting bit of news. Apparently three menos grande also appeared in the city."

"WHAT?!" several members exclaimed. Mayuri rolled his eyes. "You idiots heard me. Three gillians appeared in Karakura Town."

"Is the town still standing? How were they subdued?" Soifon demanded. Mayuri gave her and the others a very large smile, which unnerved several of the members. "Oh, that's the most interesting bit of information." Mayuri then reached into his robes and pulled out an orb. "Observe from my miniature projector."

The entirety of the captains and lieutenants watched as a video began to be displayed. And on the video were two familiar individuals. "A Quincy? And who is that shinigami? I don't recognize him." Ukitake, the squad thirteen captain, asked.

"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki. He is a substitute shinigami."

There was a looming silence when those words left Mayuri's mouth. Substitute shinigami were forbidden from being created. For one to exist means a shinigami gave their powers to a human. A capital offense. "Who did he receive his powers from?" Soifon "Based on our records, the guilty party is Rukia Kuchiki." Ukitake's body grew stiff as he heard the name of his subordinate being called. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Byakuya Kuchiki curled his hands into fists.

"We will discuss Rukia's punishment once she has been retrieved. Agreed?" Yamamoto ordered as everyone else agreed. "Yes, well that is not the most interesting thing. Please observe."

Everyone was stunned when they saw the two boys combo attack and Ichigo managing to injury the menos. "They injured a Menos Grande?" someone asked in shock, along with many others. "There's no way that substitute shinigami could have that much power." several others immediately proclaimed.

"Oh, that's where things get more interesting." Everyone then notices a new face appear. Aizen and Ichimaru had to suppress a smirk when they saw who it was. "Who is that?" Mayuri merely pointed at the projector. "Keep watching."

Everyone was completely silent after seeing the aftermath of Naruto's reigun. "He destroyed all three gillians….." Renji began.

"With a single attack?!" several others exclaimed.

"Not only that. He condensed an incredible amount of reiatsu into a single point and fired with enough speed and power to overpower the three menos' ceros and then destroy them immediately after. And if you take a closer look, he doesn't look winded at all. That shows not only large reserves of spiritual energy but incredible control. I dare say at a minimum he is at the level of a lieutenant, or maybe a captain." Unohana, the fourth captain, said. Kenpachi looked absolutely giddy of possibly fighting the blonde and ginger brat.

"That is Naruto Kurosaki. Ichigo's adopted older brother." Mayuri explained.

"Hmm, he's cute." Several people nearly face-faulted at the antics of the squad ten lieutenant. "Rangiku!" Toshiro chided. Rangiku shrugged her shoulders. "What? It's true. Plus Momo-chan seems to agree with me. If that blush is anything to go by." Momo felt her entire turn a bright red. "Rangiku!" she exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Not even here and he already makes an impression." Shunsui Kyoraku mused. However, the captain was suddenly slapped in the back of his head with a fan. "Don't get any ideas taicho." Nanao Ise, the squad 8 lieutenant warned. "So cruel Nao-chan."

"Enough!" Yamamoto ordered as the room was silent again. "Byakuya Kuchiki." The squad six captain walked forward and stood in front of the head captain. "Yes, So-taicho?"

"You and Fukutaicho Abarai will go to the human world and arrest Rukia Kuchiki for breaking the laws and giving her powers to a human. You will leave shortly. Am I understood?"

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, Sotaicho." Yamamoto slammed his cane. "This meeting is dismissed."

* * *

[The following Day]

"Uryuu, what happened to your arms?"

Uryuu pushed his glasses up. "I had an accident at my parent's hospital. I got burned by some medical fluids."

"Ah, well. Sit down for roll call." the teacher casually replied much to her class's confusion to her laid back response.

Ichigo continued to stare at Uryuu from a few rows behind. "Don't blame yourself. He knew full well of the risks." Rukia lectured.

Ichigo turned his head away. "Who said I'm worried. He knew what he was getting himself into."

"My. My. Who said anything about worrying. I simply said not to blame yourself." Rukia teased. Ichigo snapped his head to see Rukia quietly chuckling. "Grrr," he growled in annoyance.

Rukia then went quiet as she looked down at her notebook "Have you spoken with your brother?" Ichigo sighed. "Briefly. He's known about my powers and you for a while."

"Did you two fight?" Rukia did not hear any kind of arguing last night, but she wanted to be sure there wasn't any friction between the two. Ichigo looked at her in confusion. "What? No. I'll tell you what I said to him. He must have his reasons for not telling me, so I wasn't mad. But he did say we'll talk."

* * *

[Late that Night]

**RIP!**

Ichigo fell to his knees as blood flowed out of his left shoulder. "End of the road, rookie," Renji said. "Once you die, Rukia will get her powers back, before she's returned to Soul Society to be executed."

Ichigo looked up in shock. Renji rolled his eyes. "You really are an idiot. Did you actually think you could actually change anything by coming here? A greenhorn shinigami like you could never lay a scratch on me."

**SWISH!**

Renji looked down to see a small cut on his chin. He looked up to Ichigo giving him a snarky grin. "Oops. Sorry about that. It's just I saw such a good opening while you gave your spiel that I couldn't resist. Now we're even on shoulder injuries."

Renji narrowed his eyes. "Little punk," he growled. "Renji," Byakuya called out. "You're being careless. Remember, Ichigo Kurosaki was recorded wounding a Menos Grande. No novice Shinigami is capable of doing that. Do not underestimate him."

"C'mon captain! A guy like him could never beat a menos! He just got lucky with those injuries he inflected."

Ichigo felt a vein pop on his head. '_A guy like him? Lucky?_' he thought in annoyance. "Renji…" Byakuya warned, but Renji pointed to Ichigo's blade. "His sword is proof of that! Look at its ridiculous size. It shows he's a complete novice that has no control over his spiritual power."

"OI! What's the name of your zanpakuto?" Renji asked. Ichigo's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "And why would I tell my enemy that? Do I look stupid to you?"

Renji blinked before giving Ichigo a smirk. "Hmm, good. At least your not that much of a greenhorn and have some basic battle knowledge. Maybe you could have made a good Shinigami when you died, but that doesn't matter anymore. **Howl, Zabimarou!**"

Renji's blade transformed into a 6-part segmented blade with 2 pick-like protrusions on the front and back of the blade. "So that is your blade's form when you call out its name." Ichigo murmured. Renji nodded. "That's right. This is my Shikai."

'Those segments on the blade can separate and extend?' Ichigo thought. "Here's your prey, Zabimarou! Now feast on your food!" Renji cried as he jumped into the air and whipped his sword down. Ichigo did not wait as he quickly jumped out of the way before Zabimarou slammed into the ground Ichigo was standing on.

Renji gave Ichigo a smirk as his blade retracted back to its original position. "Oh, you dodged my blade, even though you knew nothing about its abilities?"

'_Renji is being too careless._' Byakuya mentally berated. '_This boy was able to keep up with Renji for a short period of time and he is aware of Zanpakutos having names. A novice he may be, but he can not be underestimated._'

"You think dodging one of my attacks will save you? That's foolish!" Renji mocked as Ichigo dodged another swipe from Zabimarou.

'_C'mon think! I need to figure out this guy's pattern and then I launch an attack when he's wide open._' Ichigo dodged another attack as the segments of Renji's blade returned. That's when a thought came to Ichigo. '_Wait._' Ichigo dodged three more swipes when the Zabimarou returned again. 'T_hat's it. Every time he attacks, he extends his blade and strikes three times before it retracts back. When he finishes his combo, that's when I can strike._'

Ichigo gripped his blade as he prepared for his attack. Renji reared his sword to attack again. '_One._' Ichigo dodges the first attack. '_Two.'_ the second strike passes. '_Three!_' the last attack missed as Ichigo saw the blade retract. '_NOW!_' Ichigo screamed as he jumped into the air right above Renji. The red-head looked up in surprise. "IT'S OVER RENJI!" Ichigo proclaimed as he brought his sword down…..only for him to completely miss! Ichigo was completely stunned, which left him open for Renji to attack.

**RIP!**

Renji left a deep cut on Ichigo's right shoulder as he fell to his knees again. "ICHIGO!" Rukia cried in worry. 'What?!' Ichigo mentally screamed as he couldn't understand what had happened. He read Renji's move perfectly. Where did he go wrong?

Renji looked down at Ichigo with a frown. "You're probably wondering why your attack failed. You had it all planned out. You studied my moves and waited till you found an opening in my attacks to strike. It's a good strategy. And it would have worked if not for one detail Ichigo. I am faster and much more experienced than you. Did you honestly expect me to not know about my gap after completing my combo attack? That was foolish of you, but I have to say that I am impressed you figured it out so quickly."

Renji brought his sword up to deliver the finishing blow but was suddenly grabbed from behind by Rukia. "Ichigo listen to me, you have to run! Take Uryuu and run away," she exclaimed. "What the hell Rukia?! Are you trying to get yourself an even worse sentence?!"

"Ichigo stand up and run!"

**THUMP!**

Ichigo suddenly began to slowly get up as he still was looking down and obscuring everyone's view of his face. "Oh, you can still stand up? Good, I can settle this with the next blow. Fighting a half-dead enemy is boring."

However, Ichigo did not respond to Renji's taunts. Renji frowned. "Not going to attack?" Again more silence before all three were bombarded with an incredible amount of reiatsu that Ichigo was emitting. "What the hell?!" Renji exclaimed. 'What's with this sudden burst of spiritual pressure. This bastard was almost half dead a second ago? Where did all this power come from?!"

Ichigo looked up to give Renji a malicious smirk.

**SLICE!**

"Gah!" Renji grunted as he saw his shoulder cut open. "This bastard-" Renji began but stopped as he saw Ichigo suddenly appear right below him. The red-head quickly brought his sword forward to block, but Ichigo retailed with an upward slash that sent him flying back a bit.

**CRACK!**

Renji flinched as his glasses broked and his forehead was split open with blood oozing out of the wound. "What the hell is going on?!" Renji exclaimed in confusion. Ichigo just gave him the same malicious grin from before. "What's the matter?! Your movements suddenly became really slow for me, Renji!"

'_Idiot! I'm not slower. You just got faster._' Ichigo continued to talk."I don't know what's happening to me, but I feel great! I don't feel the wounds on my shoulder. I don't think ...I won't lose to you, Renji!"

Ichigo lunged forward again to attack Renji. "Shit," Renji muttered as he brought his sword up to block again. However, in a split second, Ichigo found his zanpakuto was missing the top half of its blade. "What the hell ...?" Ichigo muttered. He was completely stunned. How did his sword lose its top half? '_What happened to my zanpakuto?! How was it cut in half?!_' Ichigo looked up to see Renji just as shocked. '_It wasn't Renji. Then who…._'

Ichigo then turned to see Byakuya several feet away from him and Renji. '_There's no way he could have done anything from such a distance._' that's when Ichigo notices that Byakuya was holding the other half of his zanpakuto. 'What…..' Everything seemed to slow down as Byakuya disappeared. For Ichigo, he could do nothing as one moment, Byakuya was there and then he was gone.

Suddenly a black creature appeared in front of Ichigo and caught something. Ichigo blinked before seeing that Byakuya's blade was just a few inches away from stabbing him. His eyes widen as he realized this thing had probably just saved his life. But why would this thing come to his rescue?

He was not the only one confused. Byakuya was completely stunned that this creature captured his blade before he could strike Ichigo. The question on his mind was what this creature was and was it ordered to come here or did it come of its own volition? Renji was more vocal with his questions. "What is that?!"

"This has gone long enough." a new voice stated. Everyone turned to see Naruto walking towards them with a black raincoat covering his body. "Brother," Ichigo said in surprise. He had not seen his brother once they left school. He said he needed to talk to their godfather. And now he had just saved him from probably getting killed again. "Evening gentlemen. I believe it's time we end this little squabble. I believe enough blood has been shed, don't you think so?"

Naruto turned his eyes to the black creatures. "Guardian, go to Uryuu for now." The guardian let go of Byakuya's blade as it went to Uryuu. Byakuya lowered his sword but kept his guard up as he stared at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "Naruto Kurosaki. You're the one in the report that killed the three menos grande with a single attack."

Naruto gave a mock bow of appreciation to Byakuya. He looked back up to give Byakuya a blank stare. "Go back to Soul Society, Kuchiki. I have no business with you currently. I only came to get Ichigo and Uryuu."

"What the hell, Naruto?! You can't let get gave away with Rukia." Ichigo exclaimed in shock. What the hell was his brother thinking?! Naruto sighed. "Normally I wouldn't. Hell, I want to beat these two idiots, but the safety of you two is my priority. Even if I did try to fight them, who's to say they won't use Rukia or you two as hostages."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed at the sheer arrogance coming off the boy in front of him. "You speak too freely," Byakuya warned as he disappeared again. However, to the surprise of everyone, Naruto reached his arm out and caught Byakuya's sword hand. Byakuya was left completely stunned that this human could actually track his movements and grab him. That shouldn't be possible. Naruto gave the sixth squad captain a foxy grin. "I thought I told you enough blood has been spilled." Byakuya did not like that smirk. It reminded him too much of Gin Ichimaru. That smirk on Naruto's face turned sinister as he glared at the sixth captain. "Do not test my patience, Byakuya."

Byakuya's instincts were screaming at him to move and he did just as a flash of light went through the place he was standing in. Byakuya appeared right next to Renji as he noticed a sword in Naruto's hand. It was mostly black in color with the blade in the shape of a demon's or bat's wing. It had a blue jewel at the center of its guard with a slit going down the middle, and making it look like an eye.

Byakuya frowned as he felt something warm on his cheek. He touched it and looked in shock to find blood on his hand. He then looked up to see Naruto smirking at him. Somehow this boy actually managed to cut him.

"That was a warning strike, Byakuya. Next time, you'll get more than a paper cut on the cheek."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "How dare you touch my captain-" Renji began to shout before he and everyone else was hit by an incredibly powerful reiatsu. Unlike with Ichigo, it was much denser and much darker. Everyone looked to see Naruto being covered by a black aura as his eyes began shifting color. "My patience is at its limit. Don't test it anymore or you will regret it."

Byakuya continued to glare at Naruto. "That mouth of yours will be the death of you, boy." Naruto scoffed. Like he hasn't heard that before. "Go home Byakuya, your mission was to get Rukia. You have her now go. My priority is Ichigo since you nearly tried to destroy his soul sleep. Now leave before I change my mind and beat you both and just take Rukia back."

"You think you can defeat us?" Renji demanded. "You both have your limiters on, right?" Both Byakuya and Renji stiffen in shock. "Meaning you only have access to about what? 20% of your full power?" Naruto asked. "Meaning even with your Shikai and in Byakuya's case, Bankai, you wouldn't have access to your full power. You two wouldn't be worth fighting."

Both shinigami just looked at Naruto. Who the hell was this boy and how did he know so much about Soul Society? "How do you…." Naruto shrugged. "I did my research." Byakuya and Naruto continued to stare at one another as Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia continued to watch from the sidelines wondering what was going to happen next. Finally, Byakuya turned around and began to walk forward. "Let us go Renji. Open the Senkaimon." Renji briefly looked at his captain before walking forward with Rukia in toll.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called out as he tried to get up, but his injuries were too severe.

"Shut up!" Ichigo froze at Rukia's harsh tone. "Don't come after me Ichigo! If you follow me…" Rukia turned to give Ichigo a tearful glare. "I'll never forgive you!"

Ichigo felt utterly helpless as Rukia began to walk forward. This can't be happening again. Was he going to fail at protecting someone else again!

_'What will you do, Ichigo?' _a familiar voice spoke.

_'Will you allow fear to consume you? Will you stop moving forward?'_

_'No way. I said I would never fail anyone again. I am tired of being fucking saved! I am tired of being the one protected.'_

_'__Then stand up, Ichigo. Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you slow down. You'll die if you stop._'

Everyone turned when they felt an incredible amount of reiatsu coming out of Ichigo's body. Naruto looked on with a raised eyebrow. "Ichigo…," he said slowly.

"Just how much power does this brat have?!" Renji exclaimed.

'_NOW SAY MY NAME!_'

**[Bleach OST: Ichigo's Theme-Number One]**

"**Abandon thy fears and tear the heavens asunder, ZANGETSU!**" Ichigo roared as a massive crescent wave was sent flying into the sky and blinding everyone momentarily. When everyone regained their sight, they could not believe what they were seeing, except Naruto who had a massive grin on his face. Ichigo's zanpakuto had transformed. It now resembled a blade khyber blade with a white edge.

Ichigo looked up to glare at the shinigami with a tired smirk. "Byakuya Kuchiki, I want you to deliver this to your superiors. I will get into Soul Society and I will save Rukia. And I will kick the ass of anyone that gets in my way. Including you. Consider that.." he gestured up to the direction the blast of spiritual energy flew to. "A preview of what's to come." Those were the last words Ichigo as his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he lost consciousness.

Naruto looked down at his brother in amusement. "You really are full of surprises Ichigo. I never expected you to unlock Shikai so soon." he couldn't stop himself from chuckling a bit. "But then again you are a special case."

Byakuya stared at the two brothers for a moment before turning around. "We are leaving," he ordered as the three went into the Senkaimon and disappeared.

Naruto sighed. "Well this looks like a mess." a voice stated. Naruto turned to his godfather approaching. "Urahara." Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "How long have you been here?" Urahara gave a slight smirk. "A little after you came." Naruto nodded as Urahara turned to look at Ichigo. "I must say, I am surprised that Ichigo has Shikai so soon! I was half expecting the need to restore his powers."

"Yeah well, Ichigo isn't exactly a normal shinigami. Plus I wasn't about to let Byakuya stab my brother and destroy his powers. Helping him recover and restoring his powers would have been a nuisance and a waste of time. Especially with your methods. He's lucky I held back and let him off with just that scratch."

Urahara nodded as he went to treat Uryuu's wounds. "Well then. Let's talk about this elsewhere and not let the poor kids get a cold from staying out in the rain."

* * *

[Few Hours Later]

'_No pain. I don't feel any pain from the fight. Am I dying? Is that why I am not feeling any pain. But I don't feel cold. In fact, I'm feeling warm. It's getting so warm_.'

When Ichigo opened his eyes, the last thing he expected was seeing Tessai looking down at him. "GAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Hmmm. Such a strong pair of lungs. It reminds me of your brother. It's rather nostalgic."

"TOO CLOSE! TOO CLOSE! YOU'RE TOO CLOSE!"

"BOSS! YOU AND NARUTO WANTED ME TO TELL YOU WHEN ICHIGO WAS UP!"

"WAIT! MY BROTHER AND GODFATHER ARE INVOLVED IN THIS?"

"GAH!" Ichigo grunted in pain. '_Wait._' Ichigo looked down to see all of his injuries were covered up. '_My injuries have all been bandaged up._'

"You shouldn't move too much, Ichigo. You still need to recover."

Ichigo turned to see his brother and godfather approaching. "Naruto. Urahara." Urahara began to flap his fan cheerfully. "It's a pleasure to see you up and full of energy my godson."

"Baka." the two brothers muttered. "Besides feeling completely sore, how do you feel?" Naruto asked as he approached Ichigo.

Ichigo looked down with a scowl. "Lousy," he muttered. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I expected." Ichigo's eyes widen as he just remembered something. Or rather someone. "Wait, where's Uryuu? Is he in here as well?"

Urahara shook his head. "No. Uryuu's injuries weren't as serious as yours. We healed him on the spot and he left to go back home. When he was leaving, he was actually worried about you."

"Hmph." Ichigo huffed. "I told him he could rest at my place, but he declined."

'_Thanks for saving me, but you should worry about Ichigo. The only one who could save Rukia and beat them is him_.'

"Easier said than done. I don't even know how to get into Soul Society. I can't even go in my current condition. How am I supposed to save Rukia? "

"Actually." Ichigo turned to his godfather. "There is still time for you to save her. Usually, there's a one month grace period for a prisoner that is sentenced for execution. No exception. Meaning the same will apply to Rukia."

"So we have a month to save her?" Ichigo hopefully asked. "Yes and no," Urahara answered. At Ichigo's confused face, he elaborated, "You see, Ichigo. It will take me seven days to construct a gateway to Soul Society. In the meantime, I and Naruto will train you for an additional ten days."

"Ten days?" Ichigo repeated. Naruto nodded. "That's right. With that time used, we would still have 13 days to infiltrate Seireitei and get Rukia."

Ichigo nodded "Alright. I'm in." Ichigo noticed them not say anything and looked up to see Naruto's amused smirk and Urahara's surprised expression. "What?" he finally asked. Urahara shook his head. "I honestly expected you to shout that you had no time for training and that you needed to rescue Rukia now."

Ichigo looked down. "Even if I wanted to, I am in no shape to do anything. Even if I was, what the hell could I do?" Ichigo looked up at Urahara "I was getting my ass whooped by Renji and that other guy, Byakuya. I couldn't even see him move." He then turned to his brother. "That's why you didn't do anything to help before right? You wanted me to see the gap between me and the other shinigami, right?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to show you that there was still room for you to grow stronger. Then again, you did grow stronger from that fight as you managed to achieve your Shikai, which did surprise me." Naruto answered.

"I still have a lot to learn about being a shinigami and how to use Zangetsu."

"Indeed. It was a good thing that I stopped the fight when I did." Ichigo looked confused. "What do you mean."

"Ichigo. How much did Rukia tell you about being a shinigami?" Ichigo crossed his arms as he tried to recall everything that Rukia told him. "She told me a bit about Soul Society, and that shinigami have several forms of combat like Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho, and Hakuda. But she never went into a lot of details as she said I wouldn't need to know too much since I would only be dealing with regular hollows."

Naruto nodded. "Well, she wasn't completely wrong. You see Byakuya is one of the best users of shunpo, which is the main technique used in the combat style of Hoho. What he was planning to do was destroy your hakusui and your saketsu. Had that happened, you would have lost your shinigami powers and became a normal spirit again."

Ichigo paled at the thought of losing his powers and his connection to Zangetsu. "So that's why you intervened when you did. You didn't want me to lose my powers."

"Yeah. Plus had you lost them, it would have been a hassle to restore your powers and taken time off for us to train you. But one good thing did come out of this."

"Do you mean my Shikai?" Naruto nodded. "Yeah. By awaking your Shikai, you have erased the last remnant of Rukia's power that was within you."

"Wait if that's true, then how do I still have shinigami powers." Naruto and Urahara looked at one another before looking back at the injured shinigami. "The truth is Ichigo. You've always had shinigami powers. Rukia's powers just semi-awakened them."

Ichigo's eyes widen. "WHAT?! But that's crazy! I mean I always could see spirits, and Rukia always said I had high spiritual energy. But for me to have shinigami powers, that would mean one….or both of my parents are a shinigami."

Ichigo looked up to see Naruto and Urahara stay silent. He sighed in annoyance. "Damn I really was out of the loop," he muttered before looking back at them. "I'm guessing they told you to keep quiet about your abilities. You probably wanted to say something but they told you to hold it off."

Naruto nodded. Ichigo waved his arm to them. "Relax I am not mad. They probably had their reasons for their actions. When they're ready to spill their guts. I'll be there ready to sit down and listen to them."

"Huh? You handled that a lot better I thought you would. Perhaps your brother and your mother have knocked some sense into you." Urahara teased.

"Piss off, Urahara." Naruto and Ichigo said at the same time. Ichigo then thought of something. "Wait if you know about this, then Yoruichi does too?"

"Yup. It's one of the reasons why she created the dojo. It was to keep track of everyone that was spiritually aware and had the capacity of gaining powers." Naruto explained.

Ichigo's eyes widen. "Wait that means that-" Naruto nodded to his suspicions.

"Yeah. Orihime, Chad, and Tatsuki have all gained powers. They all awakened them during your little pissing contest with Uryuu."

Ichigo flinched."Right." He still remembered the earful his brother gave him after the battle with the menos.

"They also saw our fight with the menos." Ichigo looked up to ask something, but Urahara raised his hand to stop him. "I told them if they wish to train they just had to give me their reply by tomorrow evening."

"Have they given you any responses?" Ichigo asked.

"Chad already said yes as did Tatsuki. I am waiting on Orihime."

"She'll probably say yes," Ichigo said confidently. "How do you know?" Urahara asked. "She may be kind, but Orihime isn't the one to ignore someone that needs help."

Naruto smirked in amusement. "Hmm. Such confidence in your girlfriend." Ichigo nodded. "Yeah-WAIT! DAMMIT!" Naruto and Urahara couldn't help but laugh as Ichigo's face turned as red as his hair.

"Piss off both of you, assholes!" he shouted in anger and embarrassment.

* * *

[The Next Day]

"Okay, everyone. Try and stay alive and I will see you all in September."

"Hey let's go get some sushi!"

"I was thinking about a burger. Let's go the ones with that amazing taste."

"Which one?"

"Hurry up."

"You've played that new game?"

"Yeah, it's amazing."

"Did you hear what happened in Sokovia."

"Yeah, I heard it got lifted off the sky."

"Man, that's crazy."

'Uryuu didn't show up today? Everyone in the class has forgotten about Rukia. Besides myself and Naruto. Tatsuki, Orihime, and Chad probably remember, but I can't talk to them yet.' Ichigo thought before a blindfold was tied to his head.

"I-C-H-I-G-O~" Keigo sang as he twirled Ichigo around. "Now where's the watermelon?~"

WHAM! "GAAAAAAH! Its crack the watermelon, not crack the Keigo!"

"Still satisfying," Ichigo said. "So cruel!" Keigo replied.

* * *

[Outside in the School Park]

"Watermelons. Pretzels. Swimming trunks. Goggles. Sunscreen. Towels. Umbrellas. Coolers. iPod. Speakers. Beachball. And of course-" Keigo listed off before bringing a pair of female swimsuits.

"Bathing suits." he finished. "This is the definition of a good summer. Summer means the ocean! And I, Keigo Asano! Propose a 10-day co-ed trip to the beach!"

"Yeah sorry, but I am going to have to say no," Ichigo said.

"Same here," Naruto replied.

"WHAT?! THE FUCK YOU MEAN NO?!" Keigo exclaimed.

Naruto and Ichigo sweatdrop. _'Damn he's taking this hard.'_

"Its nothing personal. It's just we already have something planned and it's going to take a month-long trip." Ichigo explained.

"I mean Ichigo wouldn't mind seeing Orihime and Tatsuki in bathing suits, but we kinda have our obligations." Naruto casually said.

"WHAT THE HELL NARUTO?!" Ichigo screamed with a red face. Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "What? Don't tell you didn't think about the two girls in bathing suits before."

"Yeah I have, but that was supposed to be a secret!" Ichigo shouted before covering his mouth. Naruto smirked as he saw Ichigo's, Tatsuki's, and Orihime's faces turn bright red. "Well, thanks for confirming it!"

_'Damn/Thank you, Naruto.'_ Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Orihime thought.

After calming down Orihime spoke up. "Sorry to say Keigo, but Tatsuki and I already have plans as well."

"You're gonna have to count me out as well," Chad replied.

"If Tatsuki and Orihime aren't going, then I am going to say no as well."

Keigo looked absolutely defeated. He turned to Kojima wearing a scuba mask. "Ah! I am going to snorkeling with my girlfriend tomorrow."

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Keigo screamed as he grabbed Kojima by the collar. "WAH! WHY ARE YOU ONLY DOING THIS TO ME?!"

"BECAUSE CHAD IS TOO TALL, ICHIGO WOULD SLUG ME, AND I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN NARUTO!"

_'Well he's not wrong.'_ everyone thought especially since they knew about Naruto and the incident.

"Actually I am going with her girlfriend and nine of her friends." Everyone had to stop themselves from facepalming. _'He just added fuel to the fire.'_

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! SOME HOLLYWOOD PLAYBOY?!"

"ARGH! I WAS PLANNING TO INVITE YOU AS WELL!"

Keigo paused as he looked at the raven-haired boy. "Really?!" he asked as Kojima nodded. "Of course."

"YOU'RE THE BEST!" Keigo cried happily. "OUCH! YOU'RE CRUSHING ME!"

_'What a shift in attitude.'_ everyone thought.

* * *

Later that day, the two Kurosaki brothers were walking home when they say two familiar faces. "Orihime? Tatsuki? What's going on?" Ichigo asked. "We need to talk, Ichigo," Tatsuki replied.

After a few minutes of explaining everything, the two girls stayed silent as they processed everything they heard. Orihime finally broke the silence. "I see. So she was forced to go back home?" Ichigo nodded."What do you plan to do?" she asked.

"Rukia is originally from that world, She has friends and family there. Wouldn't it be right for her to stay over there?"

"If you manage to take her back here what then? Will you keep her from her friends and family? Would it be the right thing?"

"That's….." Ichigo started before Orihime spoke again, "Surprising!" Ichigo looked back at her. "What?"

"I don't need to ask you to know your answer. Even if we did scold you, I can tell you're mind is already set." Orihime said in an amused tone as she got up to her feet.

"You'd pucker your lips, scrunch your chin up, and cross your arms in a haughty pose and say: _As long as you're alive you can visit them at any time you want. Its when you're dead you can't do anything_." Orihime said in her best Ichigo voice. Naruto had to stop himself from laughing.

Orihime then looked at the two brothers with a huge smile. "That's the response I expect from Ichigo."

"So gave save her, but know this…." Orihime began as Tatsuki walked up next to her. "We'll be right there, ready to help you when you need it."

Ichigo looked at the two in wonder before walking over and giving them a grateful hug. "Orihime. Tatsuki. Thank you." he said sincerely. Both girls blushed. "I-Idiot." Tatsuki stammered. "N-No problem," Orihime replied. Naruto gave them his own hug, though they weren't as embarrassed, they did catch a sly smirk from Naruto, which meant trouble for them in the future.

As the two boys were walking away, Tatsuki turned to Orihime. "So have you decided?" she asked. The ginger-haired girl nodded. "Yes. Let's go see Yoruichi."

* * *

[In front of Urahara's shop]

"Are you ready then?" Urahara asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

"Well then, let's begin."

"Please teach me well, Urahara. Naruto." Ichigo said as he bowed to both of them.

Urahara looked confused. "Is something wrong with you?" Ichigo looked up with a determined look in his eyes. "Nope." he replied "Nothing at all." Naruto and Urahara smirked as the three went into the candy shop.

The summer camp training has begun!

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Surprised with Ichigo. He did not lose his powers and he gained his Shikai. I hope no one is too upset, but let's be honest here; Ichigo gets powerups faster than most protagonists. He gained his Shikai after one fight and achieved Bankai in two and a half days! Which is insane considering Kisuke was the fastest to achieve Bankai in three days and Ichigo does it faster using the same method. Plus he himself said that Ichigo had far greater potential than he ever had. So I don't believe its a stretch for Ichigo to gain his Shikai when he did.**_

_**Ichigo also has a better connection with Zangetsu than in cannon when they first met. This change is thanks to him having a stronger desire to protect those close to him and Yoruichi's dojo which helped build his foundation to be a shinigami. Now this better relationship will cause other ripple effects later down the road. So lets put a pin on that for now.**_

_**Now Ichigo not being angry at his parents, brother, or godfather for keeping secrets is in character. Remember when he found out about his dad being a shinigami, he did not get mad or demand. He literally waited 17 months before getting any kind of answer from Isshin. Granted I feel like that conversation should have happened earlier (which will happen in this story), but I digress. I think that makes Ichigo unique among shonen protagonists.**_

_**Next, we have Uryuu's mom surviving. Yup, both Ichigo and Uryuu did not lose their moms thanks to Naruto and Urahara. Now my reasoning is simple. If Masaki was affected by the Asuwahlen light, then Urahara could easily connect the dolts and know Kanae would also be afflicted as well. So both mothers survived, but Uryuu is still mostly the same because one, while his Ryuken is not as cold as canon, he still wanted nothing to do with his Quincy heritage, so that still causes distance between the father and son. Though it's not as bad as it was thanks to Kanae being the bridge to keep them together. **_

_**Uryuu will become stronger than he was in canon, along with everyone else. And please remember Uryuu's grudge with the Shinigami had to do with his grandfather, it had nothing to do with his mother. Even with his mother there to console him, Uryuu still hated the Shinigami for not helping him. Now the reason his mother did not help is that she was not there at the time. Lame excuse I know, but Ryuken wasn't there as well. And despite not caring for his Quincy heritage, I am pretty sure Ryuken would have gone to save his father if he knew he was in trouble. At least that's what I think.**_

_**Next point, yup I made Tatsuki have powers as well. I always thought she had the potential to gain powers, especially since she became spiritually aware around the same time as Orihime. If it wasn't obvious I based her powers on Tsuna from Hitman Reborn.**_

_**This will not be the only instance we see of Karin and Yuzu knowing family secrets. The other ones will be revealed in time and I mean relatively soon.**_

_**So we are going to have a slightly larger group with stronger characters when the Soul Society Arc begins with a few twists along the way. Everyone will be stronger, but not be a ridiculous jump in power. It will be a more linear progression of power than an exponential one. Please Favorite, Follow, and Review.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Hello everyone, welcome to the next installment of MON. I apologize for the long wait. For some reason, I was in a rut when it came to working on these chapters. Now, this chapter will mostly be a bit of a set-up for the Soul Society Invasion Arc, but you will get a fight to give everyone some excitement. _**

**_Also, the results of the poll are in and surprise, the vote was for Naruto to have the power to call the heartless, nobodies, and unverse. I'll be honest, I did not expect this to occur. I expected you guys to vote that Naruto had none of them, which is how the votes were going for a while, but I was surprised by the final turn out._**

**_Now I will say Naruto will not gain the ability to summon them automatically. It will take a bit of time before any of them popping up. Also powerups for Naruto. Now I will say Naruto will get something that you can call his equivalent to Bankai and something that could be called a resurreccion. This is to make sure he doesn't fall behind in terms of power since he has enough abilities that would make the rest green with envy. One will make an appearance during this upcoming arc. _**

**_Also, many have noticed the Sokovia Easter Egg. That is for future events in this story. _**

**_Now then I hope you enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**_Summer Days of Training_**

"Whoa what an amazing place! Who could have built this marvel?!" Urahara exclaimed in shocked amazement. Ichigo and Naruto groaned in annoyance.

"Shut the hell up, daifu. I know for a fact you built this since it's under your shop." Ichigo replied with his signature on his face.

Urahara pouted. "You're both so mean." The two Kurosaki boys merely rolled their eyes.

"Grow up." The two brothers said in unison.

Ichigo sighed as he took his surroundings. This area was indeed enormous and stretched out for miles. Hell, there was a painted sky on the ceiling of the area. It made it difficult to know what time it was as it should be late afternoon by now. He wondered how the hell his godfather created something like this. And how many years did his brother spent training doing here?

Shaking his head, he looked back at the other two occupants. "Now then how are we going about this?" Ichigo asked in a serious tone.

Urahara grinned as he raised his cane to Ichigo's forehead. "Well first this!" He slammed the bottom of his cane onto Ichigo's head as his soul came out in his Shinigami garbs. Ichigo blinked a few times as he looked down at his body before looking back up to Urahara's cheeky grin. He wanted to punch it.

"That's a neat trick. So how are you two going to train me?" Ichigo asked as Tessai moved his human body away.

Urahara hummed. "Well, Naruto and I will spar against you regularly. This is to give you experience facing stronger opponents and help you in terms of using zanjutsu and using hoho techniques." his godfather explained as Naruto nodded in agreement.

Ichigo tilted his head in thought. "What about kido?" he curiously asked.

Urahara shook his head. "We'll have to shelf that for another time. Learning kido takes a bit more finesse and requires near-perfect control of your spiritual energy to use. Something you still lack I'm afraid and we are crunched for time as it is."

Ichigo nodded. "That makes sense." He knew due to his enormous reserves of spiritual energy, learning kido will be a challenge. Plus, while he did want to learn some of the spells as they could have their uses, it didn't suit him. However, he prefers to have the option of using the spells, then not having the option at all.

Noticing the frown on his godson's face, Urahara waved his hand to him. "Not to worry, if it interests you that much, we can work on it once this is all over with Rukia."

Ichigo nodded. "Fine by me. So who will start my training?" he asked.

Urahara stepped up. "That would be me, Ichigo. We'll let Naruto do his own thing for now. But he'll work with you when it comes to controlling your power."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "No offense to my brother, but shouldn't you be teaching about control as well? I mean you are the more experienced shinigami."

Naruto shrugged. "None taken."

Urahara waved away the ginger's troubles. "Not to worry, dear Ichigo. While it's true I have more experience, but Naruto seems to have a finesse with his spiritual energy that I simply do not have. It's like he is one with his reiryoku." Urahara explained in an amazed, proud tone.

Naruto groaned at his godfather's description at his aptitude at manipulating his spiritual energy. "Ignore his philosophical drabble, brother." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Already was. Hey, one thing though." Urahara pouted as Ichigo turned to look at his brother.

"Hm?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, knowing that Ichigo had a question he seems to want to ask. "You mind explaining what your zanpakuto is. Or at least what your abilities are?" Ichigo asked as he was curiously on just what Naruto's zanpakuto was and its abilities.

Naruto smirked as he shrugged. "I don't have a problem with that. I will tell you about it soon. You'll just have to be patient."

Ichigo snorted before nodding. "Fine by me."

Naruto smirked in amusement. "Alright, Urahara. I will leave him to you for now." the blonde Kurosaki quickly turned and walked into another section of the training field.

"Now, Ichigo I want to say one thing. I can teach you how to fight like a shinigami and Naruto and I will teach you to control your spiritual power, but we can't teach you how to use your zanpakuto." Urahara explained as he took his blade out of its sheath.

"Every zanpakuto is unique to every shinigami and how they can be used is also different with only the most basic things being common between all of them.** Awaken, Benihime**." Urahara pointed his Shikai towards his godson. "Now then, ready?" he asked with a wide grin.

Ichigo smirked as he unsheaths Zangetsu. "Yeah."

Urahara smirked. "Well then. Let's begin!"

* * *

[Meanwhile with Naruto]

"Now then. Its time, I spoke to all of you." Naruto muttered as he sat down crossed legged and closed his eyes.

For the past years, Naruto has been having strange dreams. The dreams involved him in a large white chamber with 20 chairs surrounding him. In each chair was a cloaked figure.

He could hear one of them begin to say something, but it was a jumbled mess of white noise. However, recently those dreams had become more frequent and the words being stated became much clearer for him to hear.

'_The... boy….growing.'_

'_Doubtless…..meeting….inevitable.'_

'_He's…...a brat.'_

'_Oh…..better…...child.'_

'_Kid….sytle…his own.'_

'_Agreed….grown…..room….more.'_

'_But...reached a plateau.'_

'_Then….time….him...meet us.'_

'_Indeed…..time….approaching.'_

When he explained the dreams to his godparents, Urahara theorized that his spirit or spirits could be trying to communicate with him. He suggested trying to meditate to see if he can enter his inner world. Naruto attempted this numerous times, but it never worked. And it wasn't like he couldn't exactly enter his inner world. It felt more like something or someone was blocking him from entering his inner world.

Naruto guessed that his spirits were the root cause and would not allow him entrance until they believed he was ready. While Naruto was annoyed at this, he decided to just wait patiently until the time was right.

Then just a day or two after Rukia was taken back to Soul Society that he had his latest dream. It was brief with the message clear for him to hear.

'_Naruto, the time has come for us to meet. Face to Face._'

'_You said it was time. Well time to show yourselves. I no longer have the luxury of waiting for you to deem me ready._' Naruto mentally said as he attempted to enter his inner world again.

* * *

[Unknown Location]

When Naruto opened his eyes he found himself in a new location. No longer in the large training arena under Urahara's shop. Now he looked like he was in the middle of a large urban city. From every corner, he could see building after building surrounding his entire area of vision. In front of him, he could see one large building in the center of a district square that reached very close to the sky.

Looking up, he could see that the sky was covered in thick black clouds that obscured any sunlight. A fierce drizzle was falling from the dark heavens.

"Woah," Naruto said out loud. "So this is my inner world? Kind of a dreary place, but oh well. There is a kind of charm to this place if that's the right thing to say." he muttered to himself.

Unknown to Naruto a transparent figure in a black cloak appeared a few feet behind him. Suddenly the figure started to walk towards the blonde. Naruto felt a chill go down his body as he felt something or someone approaching him.

He quickly turned to see a cloaked figure just a few inches away from him.

"What-?!" Suddenly the figure walked right past him.

_"No, I don't want Namine or myself to die here!"_

_"My name is Sosuke Aizen."_

_"What power?"_

_"I will kill you."_

_"One day I will become more powerful than anyone could imagine and I will kill the Espada."_

_"I DON'T WANT US TO DIE! I….WANT TO LIVE!"_

_"Namine!"_

_"Naruto!"_

Naruto jerked as he shook his head from the trip down memory lane. "Who are you?" he demanded as he stared at the back of the cloaked figure.

The mysterious figure glanced back at the blonde. "**Do you not recognize me? Does my voice not ring any bells to you? Have we not established a connection?**"

Naruto frowned. There was one thing that kept appearing in all the dreams. A name. A name referring to a figure that the others seem to abide by when he made a decision. The head of the group. His lead spirit. And maybe the one standing before him.

"Are you…..Xehanort?" Naruto asked in an unsure tone.

The cloaked figure glanced back at Naruto. "**Hmmm. Not exactly, but at the same time you are not wrong.**" the figure cryptically replied.

Naruto seemed more annoyed by that answer. "**You have grown Naruto. But it's still not enough.**" the figure said as an orb of blue electricity formed on his right palm.

Naruto tensed as held his arms up, ready to summon a weapon when necessary. "What do you mean?

**[KHFM OST: Disappeared]**

"**What I mean is that you are still incomplete. You have become stagnant. Allow me to test your strength.**"

Naruto quickly summoned a weapon to his hand. It was another weapon in the shape of a key. The shaft was silver with the teeth at the tip in the shape of a crown. The handle was a golden yellow with a blue rain guard. This was the Kingdom Key. One of Naruto's many keyblades and the most basic in Naruto's arsenal.

"Here we go." Naruto challenged as he got into a fighting stance.

Suddenly the cloaked figure turned to Naruto as he thrust his arm forward as a surge of blue lightning flew out of the orb. Naruto quickly used the kingdom key to block the surge of electricity.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he felt himself being pushed back from the sheer force of the lightning attack. It felt like he was being hit with a supercharged byakurai. Naruto released a grunt as he forced himself to stop skidding as he pushed the attack away.

An orb of electricity flew into the air as it collided with the side of one of the surrounding buildings. Particles of lightning and debris descended around the two as they continued to stare at one another. The figure disappeared in a black blur. Naruto's eyes widen as he recognized the attack. '_Shunpo!'_ he screamed. The figure appeared right behind Naruto as the blonde quickly jumped back as the figure struck where he was just standing.

Naruto quickly recognized the weapons the stranger was wielding. The ethereal blades. This became far more difficult, Naruto mused.

"**Strike Raid!**" Naruto launched the keyblade like a makeshift boomerang. The spinning blade managed to land a swift hit to the figure.

"Again!" As Naruto launched the blade again. However, the figure quickly smacked the blade away.

"Keh!" Naruto clicked in annoyance. He summoned back his weapon to his hand. The figure waved his hands as several spheres were launched from his palms and sailing towards Naruto.

"**Dark Spark.**" The figure muttered. Naruto jumped away from the spheres as they exploded outwards into giant black spheres as blue electricity coursed around them. Naruto used a shunpo to appear right above the figure. Naruto tried a downward slash, but the figure blocked it with his ethereal blades.

"Come now. You can do better than this." the figure taunted as he pushed Naruto off. The blonde quickly points his right ring finger at the figure. "**Hado #4: Byakurai!**" A stream of blue lightning erupted from the tip of Naruto's finger.

The figure had little time to react from such a close-range attack as the arc of pale lightning struck him in the shoulder. Naruto landed on his feet before quickly dashing towards his enemy. "**Arcs Arcanum!**" Naruto's body glowed gold as unleashed a 13 combo barrage against the figure.

"Argh." the figure grunted in pain as he skidded across the ground. Naruto attempted to attack again, but the figure grabbed his arm with the keyblade. Not being deterred, Naruto attempted a roundhouse kick to the figure's head but was blocked by his opponent's other arm.

"**Hado #**-GAH!" Naruto was interrupted by a fierce kick to the gut.

"**Come now, Naruto. Did you think it would be so easy?**" the figure lectured as he pushed Naruto off. The figure then grabbed by the sides of his head and slammed his kneecap to his face.

A sickening crunch could be heard as Naruto's nasal cavity was broken as blood oozed out of his nostrils. Naruto tried to regain his balance but he was disoriented by the attack, which the figure taking this opportunity to uppercut Naruto into the gut before following with a roundhouse kick to Naruto's unprotected head.

The black-clad blonde was sent flying several feet back as he slammed into the ground as he skidded to a halt.

"**I know it'll take more than that to stop you, Naruto.**" the figure chastised. Naruto grunted as he got back up. He shook his head as he got rid of the remaining dizziness. He had a broken nose with blood dripping down from his nose and blood oozing out of both corners of his mouth. His nose glowed a bit as the bleeding stop.

Naruto shook his head and glared at his opponent as he got into his battle stance. The figure chuckled. "**Atta boy. Now then, are you ready for round 2?**"

The figure waved his hands as several ethereal blades appeared in front of him before launching towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly deflected the blades as suddenly several more blades appeared all around him in a circle. The blades tried to stab him, but Naruto managed to jump out of the entrapment.

The figure fired several dark sparks, but Naruto used shunpo to dodge each one. The figure appeared right in front of Naruto with the ethereal blades active. The figure goes into a flurry of attacks with Naruto parring the attacks with the kingdom key.

The two continue this pattern of attacking, parring, and dodging for several more minutes before ending with the kingdom key and the ethereal blades were in a deadlock against one another. However, it was clear to Naruto that his opponent still had an advantage over him. The figure tried to kick Naruto away, but the blond managed to cross his arms as he was hit and sent skidding a few feet away. The figure appeared right above Naruto just as Naruto points his arm to him to fire an attack.

However, the figure disappeared before reappearing right next to Naruto. "The same trick won't work twice, Naruto." he lectured.

The blonde smirked. "I know. **Reigan!**" Naruto fired the spirit gun, not to his opponent, but the ground between them. The blast sent the figure back as Naruto was covered in a thick cloud of smoke.

The figure tilted his head as he chuckled in amusement. "**Well, that was an unexpected tactic. Then again, Naruto has always been unpredictable.**"

Suddenly several wind lances launched from the cloud and towards the figure. The lances tried to skewer him but the lances were easily repelled by the figure's ethereal blades. From the smoke cloud, several Narutos appeared around him with their palms out.

"**Hado #31: Shakkaho (Red Fire Cannon)!**" All six Naruto shouted as they launched a red blast towards the figure. The black-clad figure created a barrier to block each one. He was about to mock Naruto when several black portals appeared around him. The figure had no time to react as several arrow bullets flew out and struck him in several areas of his body.

The figure faulted as the barrier weakened and caused the six shakkaho to push forward. The figure refocused his attention while dealing with a continuous barrage of attacks. He looks down to see Naruto using his rifle guns to fire into several dark corridors that continue to hit him. The original Naruto connected the two rifles and fired a supercharge bullet that slammed into the figure's abdomen. This caused the barrier to falter even more as the six shakkaho pushed more. The clones pointed their other palms and roared,

"**Hado #33: Sokatsui (Blue Fire Crash Down)!**" The figure tried to dodge but suddenly felt his body freeze.

'_WHAT?!_'

"**Bakudo #1: Sai.**" shouted the original Naruto. The hado spells combined and shattered through the barrier and enveloped the figure in a bright explosion.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. '_No way that would be enough._'

"**All Vanity.**" a deep voice said as several beams of energy fired out of the dust cloud. **"Frozen Pride,"** Naruto called as a blue shield in the shape of an upside-down tear with five blue spikes coming out of the top appeared as he used it to block the lasers, but his clones were not as lucky.

The figure dropped in front of Naruto as the two sized each other up. Naruto dismissed his shield and from his palms as they glowed white and black. The black beam on his right arm formed into a black keyblade and the white beam in the left arm formed into a white keyblade. These were Oblivion and Oathkeeper. Dual keyblades; one of his strongest pairs of weapons and easily one of his favorite pairs of weapons to use.

"Round 3?" Naruto joked as the figure nodded. "**Indeed.**"

The two dash towards one another, Naruto in a blur of white and black, while the figure was a streak of black. The two warriors met at the center as keyblades and ethereal blades collided into one another. The two remained in a stalemate as the two tried to overpower their opponent.

Suddenly, Naruto tried a swift kick, but his opponent easily jumped above it and countered with his kick. Naruto quickly manages to jump into the air to avoid the attack. He raises his two keyblades as they glowed in power in their respective color. "**Cross-Slash!**" Naruto calls out as he swings his dual weapons down as two energy slashes ripple out of his keyblades.

The figure, surprisingly, jumped towards the attack. Naruto held his guard for anything, but the last thing he ever expected was for his opponent to turn into a plume of black and blue smoke. The tendrils of smoke went through the cross slash and headed straight to Naruto.

The black-clad blonde had no time to react as the smog coiled around Naruto's throat as it reformed into his opponent as he held Naruto in a vicious vice grip.

"N-No f-fair. That's c-cheap." Naruto choked out.

The figure tilted his head and began to chuckle in amusement. "**Since when has this been about fairness?**" he mocked. The figure reared the captured Naruto back and threw him. A sonic boom erupted as Naruto was sent flying through the air as he slammed through several buildings before slamming into one last building as he became embedded into the concrete tower.

Naruto groaned as he shook off the dizziness he felt as he saw himself stuck in the wall of the building. He gritted his teeth and with one push managed to release himself. He looked up to see his opponent several feet away, waiting for him.

The blonde dashed forward as the cloaked figure stood still. Suddenly, he raised his arms as the debris and other large sections of the buildings that fell due to Naruto levitated into the air. Naruto immediately stopped as he stared in shock and awe at his opponent performing telekinesis.

"That's unfair and cheap!" Naruto whined, but the figure just shrugged it. Naruto pouted "But it's still really cool. I can't wait to learn how to do that!" Naruto cheered excitedly. The figure sweatdropped at Naruto's complete 180 in attitude. He shook his head, perhaps the multiple personas had finally taken its toll on Naruto's sanity.

The figure waved his hands as the debris began flying towards Naruto. The blonde smirked as he dashed towards the chunks of debris hurling towards him. Naruto using quick slashes of his dual keyblades cut the heaps of concrete in just a few seconds.

He raises the two blades as he charged his reiryoku into them as they glowed black and white, respectively. His opponent seemed to follow suit as he began charging his spiritual energy into the palms of his hands.

"**Dual Twilight Cannon!**"

"**Ethereal Destroyer!**"

The two launch massive beams against one another. A spiral white and black beam from Naruto and a black and violet beam from the cloaked man. The two beams collided in a few seconds as shockwaves rippled from them and vaporizing/destroying the buildings and debris around the two.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he poured more power into the attack as his opponent retaliated with equal force. The attacks continued to grow as a sphere began to form between the two attacks. Eventually, the sphere grew too large and exploded from the contained energy and blinded both adversaries.

Naruto quickly used his sensory abilities to find his opponent and switched to his lances and sent them flying towards him. The cloaked figure immediately felt the incoming threat as he quickly flew upwards into the air with the lances hot on his trail.

The figure was about to blast the lances away when they suddenly disappeared. He was confused before hearing the shout of….

"**Dance Water! Dance!**" The figure looked up to see Naruto with his sitar as several water clones formed from the raindrops falling and the vapors within the storm clouds. The figure looked unimpressed by the clones as they charged towards him. He quickly dealt with them with a swipe of his ethereal blades.

The figure would have asked what Naruto hoped to accomplish when he felt a change in the atmosphere as it began to heat up.

"**Thundaga!**" A bright white lightning bolt flew down from the heavens and struck the cloaked man. He grunted in pain as he looked up to see Naruto wielding foudre. Before he could contemplate further, Naruto disappeared as another bolt of lightning flew down.

However, to the figure's surprise, Naruto appeared right above him with the soul eater blade in his hand with lightning dancing around the blade just as the lightning bolt struck it.

A bright flash blinds the figure as he sees the blade completely covered in electricity. "Eat this! **Sor****yuha (Blue Dragon Blast/Strike)!**" A massive serpentine dragon erupted out of the blade as it opened its massive jaws to swallow his opponent.

The figure quickly covered himself in a barrier as the serpent slammed into the barrier and the two went flying back down into the center of the square.

**KABOOM!**

A massive explosion erupted as the figure and the dragon strike attack collided with the earth below. A large dust cloud rose from the crater and obscuring everything within. Naruto narrowed his eyes as tried to focus on his opponent's spiritual signature. As the dust cloud disappeared, Naruto noticed a large 10-meter crater, but no sign of his opponent.

Naruto quickly shunpo to the crater as he looked for any sign of his opponent. But he found none.

'_No way this is how it ends._' he thought. Naruto's eyes widen as he felt a signature. He turned to see his opponent standing on top of the building.

He narrowed his eyes as he summoned oathkeeper and oblivion again. The two stared at one another before they dashed. Naruto ran up the building while his opponent fell from it. Time slowed down as the two approached one another.

As they reached the middle of the building the two stared at another as they slowly past the other. Suddenly in a swift motion, the two attacked as sparks flash from the collision of the dual weapons.

They parried for several minutes in the air as they jumped back and began releasing more of their reiatsu. The two became two blurs as they slammed into one another and colliding into the ground.

Naruto quickly jumped back as his opponent followed close behind. The figure then raised arms to strike as Naruto did something unexpected. He dismissed his keyblades.

The figure had no time to think as Naruto shouted, "**Bakudo #9 Horin (Disintegrating Circle)!**" A beam of orange tendril fired off of Naruto's left hand and quickly ensnared the cloaked figure's arms and leaving him immobile as Naruto dashed right in front of him as he charged his reiryoku into his free right hand.

The figure could do nothing as Naruto slammed a spiritual enhance punch to his gut before placing his open palm towards his abdomen as spiritual energy began to fill at the center of Naruto's palm.

"Walk away from this! **Hado #88: Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raihou (Flying Dragon Striking Heaven Shaking Thunder Cannon)!**"

A massive explosion enveloped the two combatants as the battle seemed to have concluded.

Naruto quickly jumped back as his arm was smoking from the proximity to the explosion. He grunted at the state of his arm as he focused his spirit energy through his arm as the arm began to steam as the wounds began to heal before it was as good as new.

'_Regeneration. Always a very useful ability to have. One of the few good perks I received from being Aizen's little lab rat._' Naruto thought in irony that the man that ruined his childhood was saving him at the moment. Naruto resummoned the Kingdom Key as he waited for his opponent to leap out. When the smoke cleared his opponent was standing there as a blue electrical light was covering his body.

However, the figure released his spiritual energy and dispersed the blue energy away.

**[End of OST]**

"**Impressive, Naruto. You are now ready.**"

"Well, if you think I'm ready, let's unveil the curtains that hide the darkness. Who exactly are you?" Naruto asked with an annoyed glare.

"**Very well.**" The cloaked man said as he lifted his hands and took off the hood to reveal a man that looked to be in his early to mid-thirties. He had tan skin with amber-orange eyes. The most striking feature was flowing silver hair that reached over his shoulder blades. "**My name is…..Xemnas.**"

Naruto tilted his head at the name. "Xemnas," he repeated.

The now named Xemnas smiled. "**Ah, so you can hear my name? Excellent, then we can move forward without delay.**"

"So if you are the spirit that embodies my ethereal blades, where are the other spirits that embody my other weapons?" Naruto asked.

Xemnas smirked. "**You are about to meet them. Come now, it's time we all had a chat."** Suddenly Xemnas clapped his hands together as a brilliant bright flash enveloped him and Naruto, who covered his eyes to avoid the blinding light.

* * *

When Naruto regained his senses to see himself in the same chamber he saw in his dreams. And all around him were twenty figures surrounding him with two exceptions. One was Xemnas and the other was an elderly man that looked to be in his late 80s to early 90s. He had dark tan skin with golden eyes, a bald head with blue veins visible traveling up his scalp and a silver goatee. The elderly man was looking down at him with a smirk as amusement danced in his eyes.

"I really do have twenty spirits residing within me," Naruto mumbled to himself. Seeing was believing.

"**Indeed. It has been years since our last talk. Do you remember me, boy?**" asked the elderly man.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. You're the one that spoke to me when I fought Grand Fisher. You're the one that allowed access to my first keyblade. "

The old man nodded. "**That's right.**" he raised his arm as in a dark flash, a familiar silver and black keyblade appeared. "**This is No Name. The first Keyblade you ever unlocked. It's your strongest keyblade currently, and one of the strongest weapons at your disposal.**"

"Tell why did you or anyone else try to connect after that? Why wait so many years to allow me entrance into my inner world? Was this some kind of test?" Naruto asked.

"**Yes. I told the others that we wait to make contact with you. You had plenty of teachers to learn from and we could wait patiently to seek you out. And I must say….you have grown quite nicely without our guidance, Naruto**." The old man replied.

"**Tch. He's still a brat in my eyes.**" an annoyed voice spat. Naruto turned to the voice, which happened to be from the twelfth seat. The figure removed her hood to reveal a female in her late teens to early twenties with green eyes and jaw-length blonde hair that was slicked back with two strands styled into an antenna-like appearance.

Naruto raised an eyebrow to her. "Excuse me?"

She clicked her teeth in annoyance. "**You heard me, brat. This a waste of time. You may act tough, but deep down you're a weak child that whimpers over everything that's happened to him. Hell, you became a frozen rabbit when that stupid hollow turned into your little girlfriend. Pathetic.**"

Naruto felt several veins begin to pop on his head. He willed himself from outbursting as he knew that was what she wanted. An idea then popped into his head. Did she want to rile him up? Well, two can play that game. "Wow. Who pissed in your cereal today? Or are you acting like such a bitch because it's your time of the month.?

"**WHAT WAS THAT YOU BRAT?!**" the girl screeched in outrage.

"What? I thought you would want someone that has the backbone to talk smack back. You would prefer I get angry and not retort back? Or maybe try to attack you in a blind rage? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am not gonna take your shit lying down. So if you got a problem with me, we can settle this outside if you wish."

For several tense seconds, the two glared at one another before the girl smirked at Naruto. "**Oh, aren't you cute.**"

Naruto smirked back. "Bitch I am adorable."

"**Hah! We found someone that could snark her back**." a male voice said on the ninth seat.

"**If you ask me it's about time we have someone besides the big bosses to keep her line.**" another male voice said from the eighth seat.

"**WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY!**" the girl roared as she glared at the two who spoke who shrugged in response.

Naruto decided to play mediator before a fight could break out in his head. "Now, Now let's all calm down. I don't need any of you starting a fight in my head. I would rather not get a migraine from this. So I would like it if you guys could at least maintain civility with one another. And if you want to vent your frustrations, then you can go into the city to settle your differences."

The three grumbled before compiling, though the girl muttered several insults before staying silent. Naruto sighed before turning to the rest of his audience. "Now then does anyone else have a grievance against me that they want to say to me?"

"**You are still too naive.**" Naruto turned to the voice. The figure lifted his cloak to reveal a man that appeared to be in his twenties. He has long, wavy blue hair with top ending a little more wild. The most striking features were his pointed ears, amber eyes, and an x-shaped scar on his face. "What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.

"**Your sentiments to that girl leave you blind. And your desire to protect your siblings leaves you vulnerable. Aizen will know this and exploit that weakness against you. Your love towards them will be your downfall.**"

"I am well aware that Aizen knows where he can strike me to hurt me. Do you think I have not considered Aizen turning Namine against me or worse turning her into one of his little experiments? Those thoughts have haunted me ever since I came to Karakura. Something you should all be aware of. But I couldn't dwell on them as nothing would change if I did. Namine would still be trapped and I would be here without the power to save her. So all I can do right now is get as strong as I can become and prepare for the worst when I confront Namine and Aizen again.

**"What will you do if he does indeed turn her against you?**" the blue-haired man asked.

"I will stop her and then I will make Aizen pay for what everything he has done to me, Namine, and my family," Naruto said in a resolute tone.

The blue-haired teen shook his head. "**Do you think it would be so simple? If you go into a battle with that idealistic naivety you will fail.**"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I am well aware of that. You're right. Alone, I will fail. But if we….All twenty of you work together with me as a true team, we can accomplish anything. And if that is still not enough to save Naime or stop Aizen, then we'll have Ichigo and the others on our side."

Naruto turned to address all of them. "If we can work together and have others to back us up then we can win this war. Whether it's saving Namine, Aizen, or Yhwach."

"**And what if you are wrong?**" Naruto turned back to the blue-haired individual. "There's no point in worrying about what-ifs. All they do is cloud your judgment and cause you to second guess yourself. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Until then I will train to get as strong as I possibly can to be ready for anything or anyone that is thrown our way."

The teen regarded him for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction. "**Very well. That's acceptable.**"

Xemnas was the next to speak. "**Now Naruto have you noticed something about your power?**"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I noticed it a few months before Rukia arrived here. I reach a plateau in my power. I didn't feel myself getting stronger. I felt so…"

"**Stagnant?**" Xehanort asked as Naruto nodded. "Yes. I realized that the only way to break this wall was to enter my inner world and meet my spirits. But I couldn't enter here as you wished to wait for our meeting."

Xehanort nodded. "**Yes. We watched you progress in these years you have trained with your mentors. You have grown strong on your own, but the time has come for that to end. Its time for us to truly make a connection**."

"**Now say our names, Naruto**," Xehanort ordered as Naruto looked at the first figure.

"Vanitas, the Shadow of Hatred." a boy that was in mid-teens with black spiky hair with slightly pale skin and golden yellow eyes.

"Riku, the Dark Heart of Flames." A boy that looked to be in his late teens with pale skin, shoulder-length silver hair, and bright blue-green eyes.

"Terra, the Lingering Will." A tall muscular young man that looked to be in his twenties. He had brown hair that reached the base of his neck with messy, vertical spikes and bangs that frame his face. He has light tan skin with blue eyes.

"Xion, the Key of Fate." A young girl similar in age to Naruto to bright blue eyes, pale skin, and short black hair that reached her chin with some of it tucked behind her right ear. Naruto noticed that the girl reminded him of Namine.

"Roxas, the Key of Destiny." a boy similar in age to Naruto with similar eyes. He has golden blonde hair that's spiky, as the front concentrates the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, while the back is smoother and flakier.

"Larxene, the Savage Nymph." the girl with the attitude, Naruto mused.

"Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin." A tall feminine man with shoulder-length rose pink hair with ruffles and dark blue eyes.

"Luxord, the Gambler of Fate." A man with platinum blonde hair cut to a Ceasar style with a blonde goatee, blue eyes, and five piercings on each ear.

"Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne." A teen that's a little older than Naruto with green eyes and dirty blonde hair that's in a mullet style with a few bangs falling over his face.

"Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames." A tall man with a slender appearance that looked similar in age to Saix. He had thick, shoulder-length red hair that was styled into slicked-back spikes and emerald colored eyes with two purple reverse teardrops markings under each eye.

"Saix, the Lunar Diviner." The older teen he spoke to before.

"Zexion, the Cloaked Schemer." Another teen with a slim build with aqua-colored eyes and steel blue hair with long layered bangs that cover the right side of his face.

"Lexaeus, the Silent Hero." a man who is easily the largest person from all the others. He had angular, strong features with a square chin, straight nose, blue eyes, small eyebrows, and auburn hair slicked back into messy spikes.

"Vexen, the Chilly Academic." A middle-aged man with long platinum blonde hair with two bangs framing his face and has bright green eyes.

"Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer." A broad shoulder man with violet-colored eyes, black hair styled into dreadlocks tied into a ponytail with bushy eyebrows and thick sideburns

"Xigbar, the Freeshooter." A man with an eyepatch covering his right eye with the other eye being golden yellow, pointy ears, upturned eyebrows, and dark hair with grey streaks that was tied into a ponytail.

"Young Xehanort, the Phantom of Time." A young man that looked to be around 18 to 20 years old. He had mildly tanned skin, golden eyes, and silver hair that slightly spikes and falls past his shoulders in the back with four bangs framing his face.

"Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness." A well-toned man with similar eyes to Xemnas, with a dark tan skin tone with long silver hair with three spikes on top and on the sides of his head.

"Xemnas, the Superior of the In-between." the source of his ethereal blades.

"Master Xehanort, the Master of Masters." The wielder of the first keyblade he used and the leader of all the other spirits and the master of all the other abilities.

They all smirked acknowledgment before Naruto's vision was covered by a white flash.

* * *

Naruto gasped as he opened his eyes. He looked around to see himself back in Urahara's training arena. He shook his head as he slowly got up, though he stumbled a bit due to his legs falling asleep. "Woah, that was a thing," Naruto muttered to himself as he looked down at his hands as he focused on his reiryoku. Something had changed.

"Wow. Everything feels so different. So clear. Is this what happens when someone connects with their zanpakuto?" he asks in wonder.

"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto was cut from his musings as he turned to see his brother approaching him.

"What's up, Ichigo? Was Urahara too rough for you?" Naruto asked with a playful smirk.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Hardly. Actually, he told me to tell you it's your turn to help with my training."

Naruto blinked. "Wait how long has it been since we started?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "About an hour or two. Maybe three, I think? Time is weird here."

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. '_Holy shit. I was really out of it for a while._'

Naruto then noticed his brother staring at him. "Are you alright? You look different." Ichigo asked.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "How so? I don't know how to explain it. You seem to be….glowing."

Naruto blinked a few times before chuckling. "Heh. I have a story to tell you and our godfather. C'mon." Naruto replied as he and his brother walked back to the staircase at the entrance of the arena.

* * *

[Meanwhile]

"Are we almost there?" Tatsuki replied in annoyance. Their group had been walking for some time and she was getting sick of how far they were going. She normally wouldn't complain about walking through trails like this, but she also wouldn't be normally looking for someone either. Hence her annoyance at her current predicament.

"Yeah, I can feel it. We are getting close!" Orihime cheerfully replied as he continued walking up the trail."

"Orihime's sensory abilities have developed fast." Chad complimented. While he had some grasp at his abilities, his sensory prowess still needed some work.

Tatsuki chuckled as he looked at the ginger head girl ahead of them. "She was always a special case."

Suddenly Orihime stopped as she reached a clearing in the trail they were following. She turned and waved at her friends. "There he is!" Everyone soon reached her as they looked out into the clearing to see a familiar Quincy by a waterfall. "Hey, Uryuu!" Orihime called out.

Uryuu turned to the voice. "Orihime. Tatsuki? Sado? What are you all doing here?" he asked in complete confusion.

"Well we were looking for you," Tatsuki replied with her arms crossed.

Uryuu blinked in confusion. "What for?" he asked as the three looked at one another before looking back at Uryuu. "Well, it goes something like this….." Tatsuki began as she explained everything to Uryuu.

Uryuu stayed silent as he contemplated everything he heard. "I see. So Ichigo and Naruto plan to go into the Soul Society to save Rukia."

Orihime nodded. "That's right. And the three of us plan to join them." Uryuu looked unconvinced. "Not to be rude, but how exactly will you all help them?" he asked in a skeptical tone.

"We awoke our powers when we were attacked by those hollows you summoned when you and Ichigo had your little pissing contest." Orihime innocently replied with everyone else sweat dropping at her blunt explanation.

Uryuu flinched. "Right." he still remembered the scolding he got from Naruto after the fiasco with the Menos Grande. He was almost as bad as his mother, and the lecture from her was not something he liked to remember at all.

"Besides, Yoruichi has been training us. And she is a strict teacher." Orihime cheerfully said.

"Yoruichi?" Uryuu asked in confusion. He did not see anyone else with them. So who was Orihime referring to?

"That would be me." a voice replied. Uryuu followed the voice and came face-to-face with a black cat with golden yellow eyes. "Hello, I'm Yoruichi." the cat replied as he...she waved her paw.

"AHHHHHHH! A TALKING CAT?! NO WAY?!" Uryuu exclaimed in shock.

"Oh come on, it's not that weird." Orihime insisted.

"Well compared to hollows, a talking cat is a bit out there," Tatsuki replied.

"I still find it a bit weird," Chad said in a quiet tone.

"So we're wondering if you could join our training session," Orihime asked.

Uryuu sighed before standing up. "Forgive me, but I will have to decline."

Chad, Tatsuki, and Yoruichi stayed silent as they expected the response. Orihime looked confused and annoyed. "But why, we're all training to save Rukia." the ginger girl protested.

Uryuu shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. I am training to get back at those shinigami. I don't have any connection to Rukia like the rest of you."

Uryuu turned from the group as he walked back to the riverbank he was standing near when the others arrived. "Now I would like to ask you all to leave so I may train in private." he politely said.

Yoruichi sighed, knowing this was the expected outcome. "Well, you heard it. Time for us to go."

"But-" Orihime began but was cut off by the black cat. "Now, Orihime. We can't force him to join us. But if you plan to go to Soul Society, you'll need this."

Uryuu turned to ask what the cat meant when he caught a book that was thrown to him by Chad. He looked at them "What's this?"

"A journal detailing everything you need to know about Soul Society including the shinigami that beat you along with others that have similar rank and some of their abilities. Naruto specifically wanted everyone that's going to Soul Society to read this so you'll be prepared for anything." Youirichi explained.

Uryuu's eyes widen. This was extremely valuable as it would prepare for anything he could expect. "I appreciate this gesture and tell Naruto he has my thanks," he says in gratitude.

Yoruichi nodded. "Alright then, let's go back to our training."

"I hope we see you again, Uryuu," Orihime said one last time before walking off with the others.

Uryuu sighed as he bent down to the box in front of him. "Sorry, Orihime. I can't have any of you see what I am about to train with." he opened the box as blue glow emitted from it. Unknown to Uryuu, two individuals were watching him.

* * *

[Seireitei]

"What should we do, Old man Yama?" Kyoraku asked his mentor/commander.

"Do you honestly think those boys would invade Soul Society for one girl?" a skeptical Soi-fon asked.

The squad captain of squad 8 shrugged. "Why not? Those two seem adamant about saving her."

Tousen scoffed. "Then they will fail as waging war with us would be suicide."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Aizen replied.

"Are you suggesting they could win?" an incredulous Soifon asked.

Aizen shook his head. "No. I am suggesting that we should not underestimate them as Naruto seems to know a lot about Soul Society. Not to mention that Ichigo boy unlocked his Shikai in a short amount of time. Kuchiki-taicho nearly received a fatal injury if Naruto was trying to harm him. We need to be ready for when they come."

Yamamoto finally had enough of this nonsense and slammed his cane to the ground. "**ENOUGH!**" the first captain bellowed. After seeing the other captain's silence, he continued.

"We will not allow the boasts of a child to discourage and rile us so easily. You are to go back to your regular duties. If they come here to save Rukia Kuchiki, then we will show them the full force of the Gotei 13. Now then, Dismiss."

As the captains walked out, nobody noticed the sinister smile that formed around Aizen's lips. '_I can't wait to see you again, Naruto_.'

* * *

[Urahahara's shop]

"Ahhh. That was a good bath." Naruto said as he walked out of the bathroom.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?" Urahara asked as he came around the corner.

Naruto shrugged. "Feeling better than ever. Where's Ichigo?"

Urahara smirked. "Still training with the spiritual sphere." Naruto sighed in annoyance. "Oh boy. You and your antics."

Urahara waved his fan. "Oh don't be so mean. I gave him some advice before I left him."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Which was?"

Urahara smirked in response. "The one Isshin used to tell me was something done in the Shiba clan." Suddenly the two felt an incredible spiritual pressure from the basement arena. "What the-"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he knew what was going on. "Shit that idiot." Naruto cursed as he rushed down to the arena with Kisuke right behind him.

When they arrived, they were shocked to see Ichigo levitated in the air covered in a giant sphere of spiritual energy. "Damn." Naruto and Urahara said in unison.

"Ichigo, get your reiatsu under control before you level this entire building!" Naruto shouted to his brother. Ichigo seemed to have heard his brother as the ball of reiatsu began to slowly shrink as the building stopped shaking so much.

Once the sphere became regular size and stable, Ichigo turned to his two new observers. "Look guys I did it!" Ichigo exclaimed cheerfully.

However, Naruto and Urahara instantly got concerned. "DON'T LOSE FOCUS!" the two exclaimed. Ichigo blinked before several cracks appeared around the sphere before exploding. All the two could hear then were Ichigo's screams of pain.

"Didn't I tell you if you don't focus then the sphere will explode in your face." Urahara lectured while he fanned his face.

"S-sorry," Ichigo muttered as he slowly got back to his feet.

Urahara clapped his hands together. "Anyway, now that's settled. It's time for you two to take a break for now. We'll pick this up tomorrow." The two boys nodded as they went to go get some sleep. Though the night was only starting for Ichigo.

* * *

[Later that night, Ichigo's Inner World]

"What the-How did I get here?" Ichigo asked himself.

"I called you here you, Ichigo." Ichigo turned to see the spirit of his zanpakuto a few feet away from him. "Zangetsu, what's going on?"

"You are progressing with your training, but you know it's not enough, correct?"

Ichigo sighed before nodding. "Yeah. Urahara said he can only teach me the fighting style of a shinigami, but not to use my blade. He means if I want to learn to wield Zangetsu, you have to be the one to teach me."

The spirit nodded. "That is correct, Ichigo. If you wish to truly wield me, I will train you to do so."

"Wait, how will I get any rest if I constantly train?" Ichigo asked in concern.

"Do not worry, Ichigo. While you are training here, your body is resting and thus you'll feel refreshed when you wake up."

Ichigo sighed in relief. "That's good. So how do you plan to train me Zangetsu? The same as usual?" he asked.

Zangetsu hummed. "We will spar and I will teach the special power of this blade, but you will be fighting someone else. Someone more…..unpredictable."

Ichigo looked confused. "What do you-WOAH!" he began to ask before he shouted as he jumped back as something crashed into the area he was standing in.

"Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo demanded as he unsheathed Zangetsu.

"**I'm hurt you don't know me, Ichigo. But that's to be expected I guess.**" a distorted voice replied.

When the smoke cleared, Ichigo's eyes widened. "What the hell?" he said in shock. Standing before him was another Ichigo with noticeable differences. One was that his shihakusho was white, his skin and hair bleached white, and the eyes that were golden yellow with black sclera. The most noticeable difference was instead of a scowl, he had a cocky, maniacal grin on his face as he twirled a blade near identical to Zangetsu, except the colors were swapped, and swinging it around in the air.

"**What's up…...partner.**" the doppelganger said.

* * *

_**That wraps it up for now? How was the chapter? Was the fight with Xemnas exciting. I mostly based it off his secret fight in Kingdom Hearts 1, but the location is where you fight him for the first time in Kingdom Hearts 2, The World that Never Was. Of course, Xemnas was not using his full strength, and I hope that was clear, we will what a full-powered Xemnas looks like along with the rest of the organization.**_

_**The organization members will have personalities that are a mix of all their incarnations. This means it will be a mix of KH1, KHRCOM, KH2, and KH3. This would also include the true selves of the members we have seen.**_

_**Hollow Zangetsu has now been introduced. So Ichigo is aware of his two spirits. His origins will come to light until later, but its also not too far off.**_

_**With the Soul Society Invasion, I never understood why Urahara does not give everyone info on the captains as he had to have known several of them, or at the very least explain what Shikai and Bankai are. Oh well.**_

_**Keep your eyes open for an upcoming poll. Anyway, please favorite and review.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello everyone! Welcome back. Now I know it has been a while since the last update. Current events have everyone on lockdown with it only slightly being lifted as of the date I am writing this note (06/05). Now I was planning to update earlier, but to a family emergency and my laptop's hard drive failing; my drive for writing took a dive. I know it's not much, but that's sadly how it's been for me these past three months. I never thought I would miss the outside and people this much. My heart goes to everyone and their families. Please stay safe in these difficult times. Godspeed everyone.**_

_**Anyway onto slightly more cheerful news, we now have the next update to MON. This chapter will cover the arrival of the rescue team in Soul Society, meeting Kukaku and Ganju, and finally the Invasion of the Sereitei. Not much as to say. I hope you enjoy the chapter. **_

_**Also, I may publish some additional stories because they are too interesting for me to ignore and they have been on my mind for a while. Let me know what you think of them.**_

_**Happy Fathers Day Everyone!**_

_**Now onwards!**_

* * *

**_Prelude to Invasion of Soul Society_**

Naruto and Ichigo sighed as they stared at the night sky from the open window in Ichigo's bedroom. They were waiting for Urahara's signal that was supposed to show up soon.

"What time is it?" Naruto asked. Ichigo looked at his watch. "Almost 1 in the morning."

"Urahara said to keep it open at 1. Any idea what we're supposed to expect?" Ichigo asked.

Naruto grunted. "It's our godfather. Who knows what the hell he is thinking?" Both brothers groaned before a sudden rubber ball flew into the room as it went past them and slammed into the wall and splashed what looked like blood on the wall.

"WHAT THE!" the two exclaimed before the red liquid spilled to the ground as a message began to be revealed.

_**Please meet at the Urahara Shop, immediately. **_

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THIS LOOKS LIKE A LAST MESSAGE FOUND IN A MURDER SCENE!" Naruto exclaimed in annoyance and anger.

"MURDER SCENE? SCREW THAT! I HATE TO SEE HOW MOM AND YUZU WILL REACT TO THIS!" Ichigo retorted in equal anger and shock.

_**P.S: **__**If you look at this message and think that it is the message of a dead person in a murder scene... then you have no sense of humor.**_

"PISS OFF!" the two brothers exclaimed in unison as they threw pillows at the message.

The two quickly, but quietly got downstairs as they put on their shoes and walked out of the house. As they began walking away, a voice called out to them. "Wait up you two." The two turned to see Isshin standing in front of their house.

"Dad?" Ichigo asked. "What's up?" Naruto asked. Isshin then tossed two charms to his son. "I am giving this to you two."

Both of the Kurosaki teens looked at the teens in confusion. "What are these?" Ichigo asked.

"Good Luck charms from your mother and myself. We've had those since we got together."

"Then why the hell are you giving it to us?!" the two teens exclaimed.

"Shut it you brats! It's a promise that you two will return safe and healthy! Now take it and get your asses going!" an annoyed Isshin replied.

"Alright. Alright. Jeez," Ichigo grunts as he and Naruto take the charms and begin walking out.

"Naruto, hold up," Isshin called out to his second son. Naruto stopped as he turned to look at his father. He could tell he had something to tell him that only he should hear. Naruto turned to his brother. "Go ahead, Ichigo. I'll catch up." Ichigo looked between the two before sighing. "Fine."

"Here. Take this with you." Isshin handed Naruto a letter with an envelope. "What's in this letter?" he asked.

"If you guys meet up with a woman known as Kukaku Shiba, which in all likelihood you will, you give this to her. This will get her to help you automatically."

"So she's family." Naruto guessed. He knew about the Shiba members, but some names do slip him on occasion, especially since he has not thought about the members in some time.

"She's your cousin." Naruto got a smirk from the response. "Heh. Well, this will be an interesting reunion."

"Good luck, son. And be careful. Keep Ichigo and the others safe." Naruto nodded. "I will," he promised as he began to run so that he could catch up with his brother.

Isshin sighed as he gazed at the back of his son with melancholy. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck and shoulders. "Are you alright?" his wife asked. Isshin sighed. "I am worried, Masaki."

Masaki hugged her husband tighter. "Don't worry. Let's have faith in our kids."

Isshin hummed in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

Masaki began pulling Isshin back into the house. "Come now, we need to prepare for when they come back and everything we plan to tell them."

"Right. Everything." Isshin muttered as his wife dragged him back.

Meanwhile, Naruto had quickly caught up with his brother. "What was that about?" Ichigo asked.

"Dad was being his overprotective self again. Told me to keep you safe." Naruto lied.

Ichigo groaned as he facepalmed. "Dammit, I really wish he stopped treating me like a little kid."

"I am sure we'll understand when we have kids of our own," Naruto replied.

"I hope we don't end up like him." Ichigo groaned. Naruto waved away his brother's concerns. "Relax. Orihime will act as the bubbly parent for you." Naruto teased.

Ichigo nodded absentmindedly. "Right." However, Ichigo immediately realized what his brother said and what his reply was. He turned to glare at his brother, but red-face ruined the intensity. "I hate you."

"Love you too, bro." The brothers continued their little bickering contest before they saw two familiar people up ahead.

"Orihime! Tatsuki! How are you two?" Ichigo asked as soon as he caught up to them.

"We're great. We've been training all this time." Tatsuki proclaimed as she closed her hand into a fist.

"Though we were told we have no sense of humor," Orihime said in a depressed tone.

The three felt their eyes twitch at Orihime's sad mood. '_I am going to smack that idiot._'

When they reached the store they could see Chad already waiting at the front of the store. "Chad! You're here early." Ichigo commented.

The gentle giant shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. So I went out on a walk to clear my head. Then I noticed that." Everyone turned to see the same message sprawled on the sidewalk.

Everyone sweatdropped. "Bloody wonderful." Naruto and Ichigo groaned in unison.

Ichigo looked around to see one person was missing. "Hey. Where is Ishida? I thought you said he would."

Naruto shrugged. "I thought so as well. But it seems he is not coming. Though we kinda expected that."

"Kurosaki!" Orihime admonished.

"It's no big deal, Orihime," Chad said trying to placate the ginger-haired girl. "It may be better if he doesn't come with us."

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow at this. "Why do you say that?"

"He is the most complex among us. Though Naruto may beat him to that." Chad explained with a bit of humor at the end.

"Heh." the blonde Kurosaki snorted in amusement.

"But his complexity may also be why he is weak. That's why he should not come with us." Chad said.

"Who said I would not show up?" a familiar voice spoke up.

Everyone turned to see the aforementioned Quincy standing a few feet from them. "Ishida." Naruto and Ichigo muttered in mild shock and relief.

"I told you, I will not stand being defeated by a Shinigami. So I trained until I was strong enough to make sure my next encounter with them is a victory for me. To achieve that victory, I don't mind going with you guys."

Orihime gave a bright smile to the young Quincy. "Thank you, Uryuu," she said cheerfully.

"Oi! You misunderstand. This has nothing to do with Kuchiki!" Uryuu protested.

"You're wasting your breath," Ichigo told him, much to Uryuu's exasperation.

Ichigo then took notice of the Quincy's attire. "What up with the weird get-up, Uryuu?"

"Weird?! How dare you! These are formal Quincy clothing!"

"I think it would look better without the small cape," Naruto replied.

A sudden clap got everyone's attention as they turned to see Urahara approaching them. "Well then, now that everyone is here, we can now head inside."

The candy owner turned around as he began to walk into his shop as he glanced back to the team. "Now please listen carefully, or you guys might end up dead before you make it to Soul Society."

"Woah this place is amazing! This place reminds me of an underground base!" Orihime exclaimed in excitement.

"She really likes this place," Ichigo muttered.

"I wonder if there is one like this in Seireitei?" Naruto asks aloud.

Tessai holds Orihime's hands with tears in his eyes. "Your reaction is so good. I, Tessai, am pleased to see you appreciating my hard work. Few people do so nowadays."

Everyone sweatdrop at the display. "Orihime seems to get along with everyone she meets in a manner of seconds." Tatsuki finally said. Before anyone else could comment, Urahara called for their attention.

"Everyone, come here so I can explain everything. This is the Senkaimon and it will be your doorway to Soul Society." Urahara explained as he pointed at the large square, white gate.

"Now then." Urahara began before smacking Ichigo in the head with his cane and causing his soul to come out in his Shinigami garbs. "Oh!" everyone, except Naruto, shouted in awe and surprise.

"So that's how you change into your Shinigami garbs." Tatsuki began.

"This looks a bit inconvenient if you leave it lying around," Chad commented.

"Wow, so this is where Kon is placed into your body?" Orihime asked as she poked the soulless body of Ichigo.

"Something like that. And why are you all touching my body?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

Suddenly, Kon appeared on top of Ichigo's shoulder. "Yeah quit poking it with your fingers! That will be my body for a period of time." He then turned to the girls with hearts in his eyes. "Though Tatsuki and Orihime can touch it."

"Piss off, Kon." Ichigo retorted in anger to the stuffed animal.

"You know he's right Ichigo."

"Quiet Naruto!"

"Alright, now that you guys had your fun, let me explain how the gate works. Soul Society is the world of all souls as such only souls can enter it. Ichigo's soul can enter it in his shinigami form. The rest of you are not as fortunate. This is where the gate comes in. This will transform your Kishi, which makes up things in the living world into reishi, which makes up Soul Society."

"So this gate will turn our bodies so we don't have to separate our souls from our bodies," Uryuu commented.

Urahara nodded. "That's right."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch?" there was no way it could be this simple.

"The gateway to Soul Society will last only four minutes. In those four minutes if you don't reach Soul Society, then you would be stuck in the Dangai. Not to mention in the Dangai, there's a current called the kouryuu. This is to prevent abnormalities from moving before they are disposed of. This is a risky method, but it's your safest bet to get into Soul Society."

"Then. Then what should we do?" Orihime asked.

A familiar black cat walked up to the group. "Simple. We walk forward."

"Yoruichi-sensei!" Orihime exclaimed happily.

"Going in cat form, eh?" Ichigo asked.

"This form makes it easy to move in big groups. Plus I prefer to keep my human form on reserve until necessary," she explained.

"Now I need to remind you that your soul and heart are connected. If you want to succeed in going through the Senkaimon then you have to know what your heart is thinking."

"No need to intimidate us, godmother. There is only one path before us. And that's to go forward." Naruto said.

"If you lose, then you shall never return," Yoruichi warned.

"Then the answer is obvious. Victory is the only option." Ichigo proclaimed.

Everyone nodded in agreement as Urahara and Yoruichi smirked. "Well said." She said proudly.

"Naruto, come here for a second!" Urahara called out.

"How are you handling them?"

"It was a bit stiff the first day you gave them, but now I don't feel them at all."

Urahara smirked. Leave it to Naruto to get used to a training method so quickly. He and his brother were legit monsters. He then frowned in seriousness. "Only break them when you are hard-pressed, understood? And don't forget the other part of your mission."

Naruto nodded. "I got it."

Urahara turned to the others. "Keep everyone and yourselves safe."

Everyone nodded. "Got it," Ichigo said as they began walking to the Senkaimon.

"Kon, keep my family safe," Ichigo told the stuffed animal. That was the last thing said as the group of six humans and one cat walked into the gate.

In a flash of light, the group was gone. Urahara gazed at the empty gate in silence. "It's all up to you two. Be careful everyone."

* * *

The trip through the Senkaimon went as expected. It went as bad as expected. And in a few seconds no less. An impressive new feat for everyone.. As they ran through the gate, they began to be chased by the seimichio. It's known as the janitor that cleans up the tunnel every seven days and it just so happened that day was today. Again their bad luck is something spectacular.

**BOOM!**

A large explosion caused everyone to crash land into the ground though Orihime's shield did soften the harsh landing.

"Is everyone alright?" Naruto asked as he got up.

"Ohhhhhh." Ichigo and Chad groaned.

"Wow. Is that a new yoga pose, Ichigo?" Tatsuki teased.

Ichigo glared at her. She has been spending too much time with Naruto. "You talk too much." He grunted as he got up.

"I did not expect our arrival would be so pathetic." Uryuu lamented as he took off his cape and opened his jacket and brought out a brand new cape. "Good thing I brought extras."

Everyone who saw this sweatdropped. "No comment." the teens deadpan.

"But everything is good because everyone is okay." Orihime cheered.

"Nothing is okay about the situation!" Yoruichi exclaimed as she slammed her head into the ginger head's eye.

Everyone flinched at the action. "Ouch."

"At least she didn't get the claws," Tatsuki commented as the two brothers flinched. They had been on the receiving end of those claws on occasion. It was never pleasant and seemed to get worse every time they received them.

"You're lucky it was just the shield that touched the seimichio. You could have died if the main body of rokka." the cat chastised.

"Sorry." a teary Orihime mumbled.

Yoruichi sighed as she turned to the others. "Anyway, lectures aside. We should get our bearings."

"This place looks so run down. Is this the ryuutama-shikai?" Ichigo asked.

Yoruichi nodded. "That's correct. This is the outskirts of Seireitei. Over there is Tororei where the shinigami live."

Ichigo then began walking forward "Let's head in-" however the ginger shinigami was interrupted as several walls fell from the sky and landed around the Tororei and closed it off.

**BOOM!**

Suddenly a massive figure landed in front of Ichigo. "What the hell?" Ichigo asked in confusion as

Naruto and Yoruichi sighed. "Here we go," they muttered in unison.

From the large dust cloud, a giant man rose out of it. "How interesting. It's been a long time since someone tries to go through the torureimon without a pass. After such a long time I have something to do."

"Don't worry kid. I will treat you well." the giant said with a smug grin.

'_Yeah. Like that doesn't sound ominous._' everyone thought with a sweatdrop.

**BOOM!**

The giant unsheathed his giant ax as he slammed it into the ground and raised the earth around them in a man-made arena. "So then let's begin our battle. Attack from any angle you would like kiddo."

"Who the hell is this guy?" Uryuu asked.

"This is Jidanbou, one of the four guardians of the four gates," Yoruichi explained.

"How do we beat someone like this?" Tatsuki asked.

The black cat hummed. "We use our heads now-HEY WAIT!" Yoruichi shouted as Chad and Orihime went rushing to Ichigo's aid.

However, before the two could get far, the two were halted by someone hoisting them by the scruffs of their necks. "Hold it, Orihime. You too, Chad." Naruto said.

Before the two could retort back, Naruto spoke again. "Relax, you two. Ichigo can handle this. Isn't that right, bro?"

"At least someone has faith in me," Ichigo replied from the other side of the stone wall.

"Ichigo will you be alright?" Orihime asked. "Don't worry I'll be fine," Ichigo said back.

Orihime turned to Naruto "Is he?" she asked as Naruto rolled his eyes in amusement. "Yesh, must you all have such little faith? What do you think we did for 10 days? Ichigo trained with Urahara and me for all ten days. Hell, he wasn't safe even in his own head."

This confused everyone, except Yoruichi who knew what Naruto was talking about. "What do you mean?" Tatsuki asked.

"Unlike before, Ichigo has an established connection to his zanpakuto. You all saw a glimpse of it when he called part of its name when he injured the Menos Grande. Then he fully called it in his fight with Renji."

"That would be his Shikai?" Orihime asked. Naruto nodded as he smiled at the ginger girl. "Right, Orihime. And what's the other one called…."

Orihime puffed out her cheeks. "Bankai. Don't treat me like a child, Naruto." Orihime huffed as she glared at the blonde who looked more amused than anything. To him, Orihime's glare was like a kitten trying to look ferocious. Failing spectacularly and looking absolutely adorable.

Tatsuki frowned as she remembered a detail about Ichigo's zanpakuto when they arrived here. "Wait. But his sword looks like it always did."

"That's because due to his better connection, and with Urahaha and myself training his spiritual control, he's able to maintain his sword in his sealed state and only unleash it when necessary. Though it's still bigger than a normal zanpakuto."

"Thanks for explaining that," Ichigo said in a mildly annoyed tone. "Now can you guys back away so I can fight?"

"Alright. Just don't lose." Chad said. "Of course." Once they heard Ichigo's confidence to win, they began walking back a few feet away from the stone dome.

"Are you finished?" Jidanbou asked. The ginger shinigami nodded. "Yeah. Ready when you are."

The gatekeeper smirked. "Then prepare yourself!" Jidanbou thrust his ax downwards, but Ichigo blocked it with his unsheathed and sealed zangetsu.

'_WHAT?! HOW CAN HE BE SO POWERFUL?!_' Jidanbou shouted in his head.

"He stopped it without releasing his zanpakuto," Tatsuki said in awe.

Ichigo scoffed when he heard his friend's comment. "Please, this would be child's play for Zangetsu. The sealed form is enough."

Jinabou's shock quickly gave into a hearty laugh. "HAHAHAHAHA! You're not bad kiddo! It's been a long time since someone could block my ax. Now then I can finally use my full strength." he said in excitement as he unsheathed another ax.

"Good luck kid. There have been three people that could stop my single ax. But none have stopped both!" Jidanbou exclaimed as he lunged with both axes, but Ichigo once again blocked both axes.

Jidanbou was sweating up a storm at what he was seeing. "How can you still be standing?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow "Are you done?" Jidanbou quickly shook his head. "No! Feel my strongest attack.** Banzai Jidan Damatsuri!**"

As the attack approached, Ichigo crouched down in a battle stance. "Sorry I have to destroy your axes."

**CRACK!** And with one mighty swing, Ichigo smashed both of Jidanbou's axes with a single blow.

**SMASH! **

Suddenly a piece of flying from the ax smashed right onto a certain Quincy's head. "Uryuu!" Orihime shouted in shock as everyone else winced in pain.

"Ouch!" Naruto and Tatsuki said in unison.

"Damn it, Ichigo! Watch where you throw debris!"

"Learn how to dodge!"

Jidanbou looked stunned at the handles that were once attached to his axes. Now they were reduced into nothing. "You broke my axes….**WAHHHH!**" The giant gatekeeper began balling his eyes out at the loss of his weapons.

Ichigo and the others just watched in stunned silence. "He's crying." Ichigo finally said.

"It's like a siren," Tatsuki replied.

"….." Chad and Orihime were still quiet.

"Pathetic." Uryuu snarked, though that was probably due to the broken ax smacking him into the head.

"Now I feel like we're bullies," Naruto muttered.

Ichigo slowly approached the crying giant. "Hey sorry about that. I didn't mean to destroy your axes. I just wanted to knock them out of your hands. I just got carried away." he apologized awkwardly.

Jidanbou turned to Ichigo with tearful puppy eyes. "You are such a nice guy."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Technically true. Though he probably did it because he felt bad for making you cry like that." Ichigo sent his brother a dirty look.

Jidanbou finally stood up after several minutes of crying. "I have been defeated utterly. Both as a warrior and as a man. I have guarded these gates for 300 years and this is the first time I have been defeated."

"You may go inside. I, Jindabou, grant you permission to go through the gates."

"Really thanks!" Ichigo said in gratitude.

"Are you really going to let us go?" a skeptical Uryuu asked.

Jidanbou shrugged. "Your boss defeated me. I have to let you go."

"B-Boss, don't be ridiculous! What utter nonsense are you spewing!" an incredulous Uryuu exclaimed.

Chad patted Uryuu's shoulder to placate him. "No need to get so mad. Besides, I am pretty sure we all agree Naruto or Youirichi is our boss," he said.

"What's your name?" Jidanbou asked the ginger head shinigami. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Ichigo, such a lovely name." the gatekeeper said cheerfully.

Ichigo's face became as red as a tomato. "My name is NOT lovely."

Naruto smirked. Oh, this was always too much fun. "Oh, c'mon berry-chan. It's cute." the blonde teased.

Ichigo turned to glare at his brother. "I wouldn't be talking fish-cake."

The smile on Naruto's face dropped as he glared at his brother with veins popping on his forehead. "I told you my name means Maelstrom."

Ichigo gave his brother a smug grin. "Annoying isn't it?" Literal sparks were flying between the two as Ichigo's hand was dangerously close to zangetsu's hilt while Naruto looked close to summoning his ethereal blades.

The rest just sweatdropped at the rising tension between the two brothers. "Easy you two," Orihime said as she tried to calm the two brothers down.

The two continued to glare at one another before turning away and huffing away. The group just sweatdropped at their actions, while Jidanbou just chuckled at the brother's antics. "I don't know why you want to go through, but the people are here. They are stronger than me."

Ichigo and the rest gave him determined looks. "We're ready for them." Jidanbou gave them a smirk of acknowledgment. "Nice eyes. Now then let me open the gates."

Jidanbou then turned to the wall as he grabbed both ends of the closed gate. "**UUUUUUUUUUUUUU!**" the giant roared as he raised the gate upwards.

Everyone was amazed, Naruto was immediately tense as he felt something was off. Ichigo noticed his brother's odd posture. Before he could ask, he also noticed that Jinabou looked rather tense as well. "Oi! Is something wrong?" Ichigo called out.

"Ichigo," Naruto warned his brother. Ichigo was about to ask before his brother pointed in the direction of the opened gate. Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized who was standing there. A shinigami wearing a white haori with silver hair with the eyes of a fox.

"A shinigami captain," Uryuu muttered in shock as he and the others tensed up.

Ichigo grabbed his zanpakuto as he glared at the captain. "Captain of squad 3… Gin Ichimaru," he said in a tense tone.

Gin tilted his head as he looked at everyone curiously. "Oh, you know my name. That's rather interesting," he said in an amused tone.

"You learn everything you can about who you're invading," Ichigo replied.

Gin nodded as if he was a pleased school teacher. "Ah, good. At least you were proactive to do your homework." the captain then turned to a certain giant holding the gate. "Ah, but Jidanbou." Gin began amused before his face contorted into something more malevolent. "That's not allowed."

Naruto's eyes widened as he quickly called out, **"Lindworm!"**

Several violet lights shot forward and appeared in front of Jidanbou's arm just as a flash of light slammed into them. Sparks flew everywhere as the light dimmed to show all six lances blocking a blade from cutting off the giant's arm but his upper shoulder was still cut open.

Jidanbou grunted in pain as Gin looked rather amused by this development. He turned to see the cold, dark glare Naruto was directing towards him. "Oh? Those are some scary eyes." Ichigo stepped up as he unsheathed his zanpakuto.

Gin then turned back to Jidanbou, "What do you think you're doing?"

Yoruichi was slightly panicking. '_Damn, I did not think we would face a captain this soon. And of all the captains we had to face, it had to be Gin Ichimaru. The only ones that could have a chance of surviving a fight with him are me, Naruto, and Ichigo. However, Ichigo would not last long due to his inexperience. I just hope Naruto can remember his training and not go all berserk_.'

"I lost. The Guardian opens the door when he loses. It's only natural." The Guardian explained.

Gin smiled as he tilted his head in amusement "What.~" he said in a singalong tone. "What idiotic rule did you get that from? Foolish. You're not supposed to open the gates when you lose. If the guardian loses then that means it failed at their duty." All amusement in face and tone died as he gave an ominous smirk to Jidanbou. "It means they must be…..executed."

Gin was about to strike Jinabou again, but…..

**CLANK!**

A large zanpakuto blocked Gin's soul cutter.

"Oh?" Gin said in amusement as he looked into the serious glare Ichigo was giving him. Suddenly Naruto appeared right above Ichigo with his soul eater in hand. "**Blade Beam!**"

Gin quickly used shunpo to dodge the slash as he looked up to see the cold, murderous gaze of the blonde shinigami. But all that look did was make Gin smirk even wider. "Those are some cold eyes you have there, Naruto Kurosaki."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes "So you know who we are?"

The captain of squad 3 looked towards him. "Kinda hard not to know about the carrot top head that injured a Gillian. Then there's your brother who killed three with a single attack."

Gin waved his hand towards them. "Yes. You two are quite famous here. You have quite admirers here, Naruto."

Ichigo snorted. "He always did attract attention wherever he goes."

Gin leaned his sword arm back. "But unfortunately, this is where we say goodbye."

Ichigo and Naruto felt the immediate rise of Gin's spiritual energy. "**Zangetsu/Blade Beam!**" The two yelled in unison as two massive projections of energy flew towards The captain.

Gin smirked as he opened his eyes to show his aquamarine eyes as they quickly shifted red. "**Shoot to kill. Shinso!**" Immediately a massively long blade fired off his hilt as it tore right through the crescent-shaped attacks and headed straight for the brothers.

Naruto quickly got in front of his brother and summoned Vexen's weapon of defense. "Cold Pride!" A blue shield appeared in front of Naruto just as Shinso slammed into it. The shield held strong but the force of the attack's thrust sent both Naruto and Ichigo off their feet and flying straight into Jidanbou as they went skidding several feet of the gate.

"Naruto/Ichigo!" everyone shouted in concern.

As the gate was closing Gin gave one last wave to the group. "Bye-Bye!" Was the last thing they heard just as the gate closed.

**SLAM! **

"Dammit," Ichigo swore as Naruto grunted in response.

"You okay?" Yoruichi asked as she and the others got back up. Both nodded. "Yeah." As they got back on their feet.

"Sorry, Youirichi." Ichigo and Naruto apologized.

The black cat shook his head. "No need for that. This was unexpected. I did not think we would face someone like him so soon."

"Now what?" Tatsuki asked.

Yoruichi turned to face the empty houses. "We talk with them."

Suddenly several hundred began to come out of the houses and alleyways. "Who are they?" Uryuu asked.

"These are the residents of this district of Rukongai."

"Mister it's me!" a young boy shouted as he waved to Chad. "Shibata The Parakeet!"

Naruto's, Ichigo's, and Chad's eyes widen in surprise. "Shibata?!" Chad and Ichigo exclaimed.

Naruto whistled. "That's a blast from the past."

* * *

[A few hours Later]

After things had settled down a bit, everyone was strategizing their next course of action. Orihime was currently healing the wounds on Jidanbou's arm.

"How's Jidanbou, Orihime?" Naruto asked.

The ginger girl turned from the wound and smiled. "He'll be fine. Thankfully you stopped the cut before it went through his entire arm. That would have taken more time."

Naruto smirked. "Yeah." However inwardly he was frowning at Orihime's healing ability. '_That ability of hers. Feels off. It's not normal healing. Especially since it's much different from the healing spells she knows._' Naruto shook his head. '_But I can worry about that later._'

Orihime sighed as she finished the last injuries on the arm. "There. All done!" She cheered happily.

"Let's go." Orihime nodded as the two went into the house that everyone was currently in. The house was owned by the elder of this area of the district. The group was currently discussing the situation they were in after they failed to enter the gate.

"Security is sure to increase behind the gate, so it's no longer an option for us," Yoruichi explained.

"I'm guessing the same will occur in the other gates." Uryuu guessed.

"Yes, that and the other gates are at least 10 days away. They are not an option either."

"So what's the backup plan?" Tatsuki asked.

Yoruichi gave a small grin. "Well if we can't use the gates, then we will have to get in without them."

"Elder-dono. If you would be so kind as to direct us to Kukaku Shiba."

The elder's eyes widened as sweat began to cover his face. "Kukaku Shiba?! Don't tell me you plan to use that?!"

Before anyone could ask just what did the elder mean by his statement, a person came flying into the residence.

"What the hell?!" nearly everyone shouted in shock.

"Did someone just fly in? Is this a break-in?" Ichigo asked.

***OINK!***

Everyone blinked at the noise they just heard from the doorway. When they turned to see what caused the noise, they all sweatdropped in confusion. "Is that a pig?" a confused Uryuu asked.

"Does it have a bow?" Naruto asked in equal confusion.

"It looks cute," Orihime said.

"Ahh." the unknown man said as he got back on his feet. "I got thrown off my pig again. Yo old man. Long time no see."

"Ganju, what are you doing here?! Go back home!" the elder demanded.

"Yesh, so cold old man. I have come in a while and you already want me gone? What would your guests think?"

'_You're the one scaring them._' everyone else thought with massive sweat drops.

Ganju then noticed Ichigo or to be more precise in his attire. "Oi! Hold on." Ganju took off his goggles as he glared at Ichigo. "What's a shitty shinigami doing here?"

Naruto then remembered something about the Shiba Clan. '_Oh fuck. I just remembered. Kaien Shiba died fifty years ago and Rukia took the blame for it even though it was for a hollow that possessed him and his wife. But Ganju has hated shinigami ever since. And knowing my brother's temper, they will definitely start throwing punches_.' Naruto had to resist the urge of facepalming for forgetting such an important detail.

"Oi, I asked you a question!" Ganju demanded as he grabbed Ichigo by the

**WHAM!**

An annoyed Ichigo slugged the Shiba man as he went flying to the ground much to nearly everyone's shock. Naruto just groaned from under his face, feeling the headache this was going to bring.

"How dare you hit me?! Are you trying to start something?!" Ganju shouted as he got up and held the cheek that Ichigo struck.

"That's my line you pig riddling barbarian! Who the hell busts into someone's house like that?!"

"Elder who is this man?" Uryuu asked. The elder sighed. "This is Ganju." Ganju then went into an unnecessarily long spiel about the titles that he holds. It would be impressive, if not for one glaring flaw….

'_All of his bloody titles are self-declared!_' literally everyone in the group screamed mentally. Suddenly Ganju lunged and tackled Ichigo and pushed him right out of the elder's hut.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried out as she, Tatsuki, and Uryuu rushed out to help him, but were blocked by Ganju's gang.

"Don't get in the way of our boss teaching a message." one of the goons warned. "If you want to get involved you have to get through us."

Everyone sweatdropped as they all noticed a commonality between the goons and Ganju. 'They're all riding pigs!'

"So Long as I live. Shinigami and I will always be their enemies." Ganju declared as he took a large knife, while Chad quickly threw Zangetsu to Ichigo.

"Stop Ganju! He is not a bad shinigami." the elder begged. Ganju gritted his teeth as he glared at the old man. "Shut up old man! There are no good or bad shinigami."

"Ganju." the elder said sadly. The others were confused by the conversation, except for Naruto who merely sighed in annoyance and walked forward to end this childish squabble.

"Then tell Ganju, what about Kaien Shiba?" Naruto asked. The elder and Ganju's goons all flinched in fear at the forbidden name being mentioned. They turned to see Ganju's eyes widen before they narrowed in outrage. "How dare you?" he growled.

Naruto matched the glare with his own. "No how dare you? You dare spit and dishonor him in such a way? He would be ashamed of you."

"YOU BASTARD!" Ganju was about to lunge at Naruto, but the blonde released a potent amount of his spiritual pressure to stop the Shiba man in his place. Naruto glared at Ganju with an arctic glare. "Leave Ganju," Naruto warned coldly as everyone else shivered at his tone. "Out of respect for Kaien, I am letting you off with this crap. But do this again and I will bring you to Kukaku beaten and bloody."

There were a tense few seconds as Naruto and Ganju continued to glare at one another. Suddenly an alarm began to go off. One of the goons took out a large pocket watch and his eyes widened in shock and fear. "Boss its time!" Ganju swore when he heard this. He turned to glare at Ichigo and especially Naruto. "We'll finish later, bastard." Ganju then got on his pig as he and his goons marched away.

Naruto continued to watch them for several more seconds until he was sure they were gone. He sighed as he retracted his spiritual pressure much to the relief of everyone else. "Come on, we need to get ready for bed. We have a bit of a walk tomorrow." Yoruichi ordered.

As they walked back in, Ichigo decided to ask his brother the question on everyone's mind. "Naruto who was this Kaien Shiba you talked about?" The group noticed Yoruichi and the elder twitch as Naruto sighed. He turned to look at his friends.

"Short version? Kaien was a shinigami lieutenant and the older brother of Ganju and Kukaku Shiba. Kaien and his wife got possessed by a hollow and both needed to be killed by a fellow shinigami. Ganju has hated shinigami ever since."

"But if that is what happened, then why does he hate the shinigami?" Orihime asked in confusion.

"Because the shinigami that brought his body back to his family felt immense guilt for what happened and said she was the one to kill him. Plus the wounds on Kaien all came from a sword. So it's not hard to understand why he hates them. But not all shinigami are the same."

Everyone froze as they felt the temperature around Naruto go down as glared at the ground. "No, some are much worse." He growled in hatred. The group became concerned as they saw a black aura enveloped Naruto.

'That's enough Naruto. You are scaring your friends.' Xehanort's voice ringed in Naruto's head. The blonde's eyes widened as he closed them and took a big breath and the black aura went back into his body and he took a big sigh.

Everyone relaxed as they saw Naruto calm down. Naruto gave everyone an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. I got lost in my train of thought."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ichigo asked. Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Let's get some shut-eye."

* * *

[The following Day]

"Come on everyone," Yoruichi called as she and the rest of the group walked down the dirt path that led to Kukaku, according to the elder's map and his instructions.

"This seems pretty far from the village. We're sure this is the right way?" Uryuu asked as he looked at the rural area they were in. Sure it all looked peaceful but looked rather secluded to live in. Though considering what they were planning to do, maybe it was for the best.

"That's what the map from the Elder says," Orihime replied.

"Kukaku was always the type of person to enjoy the peace and tranquil of solidarity. Plus the house is really recognizable once you see it." Youirichi explained.

"Youirichi, how close are you to Kukaku?" Tatsuki asked. The black cat hummed as she recalled her history with the current Shiba head. "You could say we are very old friends."

Youirichi blinked as she saw something catch her line of vision. "Ah, I can already see. Look over there!"

Everyone turned to look at the house. Though calling it a house was a bit of a stretch. The house looked normal enough, but the glaring issue was the giant stone hands that held a giant sign that said, Kukaku Shiba. "WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT KIND HOUSE IS THAT?!" Ichigo and Uryuu exclaimed.

"No wonder you could recognize it from a glance. It sticks out like a sore thumb!" Tatsuki shouted.

"Oh!" Yoruichi said as she ignored everyone's reaction. "So this time it's a pair of hands holding the banner. I like it."

"Wait, it changes each time?!" Ichigo asked incredulously.

Naruto groaned. "I'm gonna regret asking, but what were the other themes?"

Yoruichi hummed. "Let's see there was a pair of legs, a wrestler holding up a trophy belt, and a boy confessing to his crush."

"Yup this is the best one so far." The blonde commented.

"Kinda." The others said with sweat drops. Yoruichi chuckled as they all walked to the house. Suddenly two large guards appeared in front of them. The two looked to be twins with similar attire.

"Halt! Who are you, people? Your clothes are very weird." The right guard asks.

"Two of you look like shinigami." The left commented.

"We, Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko will not let you pass. Leave or you will die." The two said in unison.

Most of the group sweatdrop at their synchronized speaking while Orihime was clapping in amusement.

Youirichi decided to speak up before this amusing interaction went too far. They were here for business after all. "Now. Now. We are not here to cause a fight."

"Y-Yoruichi-sama!" The two exclaimed in shock.

* * *

[A few minutes Later]

"Please forgive our rudeness. I didn't think these were with Yoruichi-sama." Koganehiko lamented as he and his brother took the group down a flight of stairs to Kukaku.

"My fault as well. I should have warned about them."

"You're far too kind." The two said in unison as the group reached the end of the stairs. Koganeshiko walked and knocked on the door.

"Please wait here a moment," Shiruganehiko said quietly.

Suddenly a voice came from the other side of the door. "Koganeshiko is that you?"

"Yes, we have some guests here to see you."

"Ho?" The voice sounded amused. "It's rare to have visitors."

"Send them in quickly!" The voice said with authority.

Koganehiko flinched. "H-Hai!" The door slid open, the room was bright and large, but what got their attention was the person lying on a cushion. The person was a beautiful woman in her late twenties to early thirties. She has green eyes, two thick eyebrows, light pale skin, and even wears bandages over her long messy black hair that parts down in half at the small of her back. She also wears a white skirt, and provocative dark red robe exposing her ample bosom. She is missing her right arm and even has a tattoo on her left arm. She wears bandages around her right shoulder and both of her ankles. She also has wooden sandals and a cloak. This was Kukaku Shiba.

"Well, this is a surprise. Long time no see, Youirichi." Kukaku said with a smirk.

"WAIT! KUKAKU'S A WOMAN?!" A stunned group exclaimed.

'_A DAMN FINE WOMAN!_' Axel said as he and a few others wolf-whistled.

'_Roxas, don't stare!_' Xion chastised as she covered his eyes with her hand.

'_OW!'_ The key of destiny groaned from the smack he felt as Xion covered his eyes.

'_Damn it, Axel, keep your comments to yourself!_' A blushing Naruto ordered.

'_Hey, they were your thoughts as well!_' The fiery red-head retorted.

'_Enough Axel, don't act like a perverted idiot.'_ Saix ordered.

'_Hmm, so the brat can be normal._' Larxene said.

'_I wonder how his little Namine will feel?_' A certain nocturne teased.

It took all of Naruto's training to keep the blush from crawling up his face. '_Larxene! Demyx piss off!_'

Kukkaku blinked as she noticed all the teens with her long time friend. "Who are the kids with you? You've never been the parental type."

Youirichi shrugged. "Let's just say the years can change a person. Plus the two spike heads are my godsons."

Kukkaku's eyes widened before looking even more interested. "Well, that is certainly a surprise. So why are you here? I doubt this is a social greeting."

The black cat's face became serious. "You're right. I am here to ask you a favor."

"I see. Is it complicated?" The Shiba head asked.

Yoruichi nodded. "I believe so."

Kukaku hummed. "Hm. It's been a while since we've had a conversation like this."

She gave the group a smirk. "So tell me the favor. I enjoy complicated stuff."

Youirichi then proceeded to give a rough explanation of what they were doing here and what they were trying to achieve.

After hearing the take, Kukaku stayed quiet as she smoked a bit of her pipe. "Hm. I think I understand the situation. Alright, I accept the job."

Ichigo and the others, minus Naruto, looked confused. "That quickly?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask.

Kukaku shrugged. "Since it's also from Urahara, I can't really refuse."

She then narrowed his eyes. "But….I may trust you, Yoruichi. But I don't trust those kids. Godsons or not. So I want to send one of my trusted men to go with you on this mission. Non-negotiable."

"Of course not. " Youirichi replied.

"Who are you sending with us?" Uryuu asked.

"My brother. He's a complete punk, but he's dependable." Everyone in the group paused as they felt they were

Kukaku stood up and walked up to another door.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Y-Yes." A voice said behind. Now everyone felt their brains tinkling as they were remembering something important. Naruto sighed and mentally counted to the shit storm that was about to hit.

Kukaku slid the door open to reveal Ganju in rather formal looking clothing. "This is my brother."

"Hello, my name is Ganju Shiba. Please meet you all."

There was an awkward silence as Ganju and Ichigo's group stared at one another. It was this moment everyone remembered when Naruto told them that Ganju was a member of the Shiba clan.

Ganju then noticed Naruto and immediately rose to his feet in anger. "YOU BASTARD!"

Kukaku blinked in confusion. "Wait have you met already?"

Yoruichi sweatdropped. "Something like that."

* * *

[Meanwhile at the Repentance Tower]

Rukia was being escorted by Renji and several hooded guards to her new place of residence until her execution.

"Do you see it, Rukia? That is Sokyouku. That will be used for your execution." The head guard said.

"May you continue to stare at it until the day of your execution as you think about your sins."

The guards began to turn and leave, but a certain shinigami had not moved. "Come, Abarai-fukutaicho."

However, Renji did not move. "Fukutaicho?" Renji then began to walk forward until he was right behind Rukia. He grabbed her shoulder and leaned in so that he whispered into her ear.

"Rukia, there have been reports about some idiots that tried to break into Soul Society through the West Gate. Reports say there were seven individuals. One of them was a shinigami with a zanpakuto as long as his body. The other wore a black jacket and had blonde, spiky hair. Both had attempted to fight Ichimaru-taicho."

Rukia turned to look at Renji with a stunned look before her eyes sparkled with joy and dare he say….hope?

Renji did not dwell on the look too much as he turned around and walked out with the guards. As he trekked back to the squad six barracks.

'_It's been a while since I saw her face brighten up like that. Though I saw her panic when Ichimaru-taicho was mentioned. There's no way the kid could have survived. But there's his brother. Maybe they made it out. But since they failed the direct approach, what will they try now?_'

"Hello, Renji." The lieutenant paused as he turned to see the squad five captain calling him.

"Aizen-taichou?" He asked in confusion. The two walked in a storage room to talk.

"How long has it been since we've spoken Renji? I believe the last time was before you transferred to the sixth division, right?"

Renji nodded. "I believe so. Around a decade or so ago." The redhead sighed as he looked at his superior. "Aizen-taicho, what exactly did you want to ask me?"

"Hm, I guess we should get straight to the point. You were close to Rukia Kuchiki, right?"

Renji suddenly looked rather flustered. "I-I. I um."

Aizen chuckled. "Now. Don't be shy, it's just a talk between us."

Renji nodded. "Yes, sir."

Aizen then turned to look out the storage room window. "Tell me, Renji, don't you find Rukia's death penalty a little odd." Renji's eyes widened in surprise. "Late Arrival and unauthorized lending of shinigami powers. While the latter does warrant some kind of punishment; the death penalty still a bit excessive. Then there's the immediate retrieval and disposal of her physical form. Another oddity. The execution date is set for 25 days and not the usual 35. All of this seems very off."

Aizen then turned to look at Renji. "It's almost like there's a conspiracy behind all this…."

Renji was getting rather nervous at where this conversation was going. "Aizen-taichou, just what are you trying to say?"

Aizen paused. "Perhaps….."

"**ATTENTION TO ALL CAPTAINS AND LIEUTENANTS! ATTENTION TO ALL CAPTAINS AND LIEUTENANTS! YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUIRED FOR AN EMERGENCY MEETING!"**

Renji looked surprised, while Aizen had to suppress the smirk that wanted to curl up his lips.

* * *

[Back at the Shiba Residence]

Everyone in the room watched with sweat drops as Ganju and Ichigo were having a comical fistfight. You see the Shiba man tried to lunge at Naruto and get him back for his comment from yesterday. However, Ichigo was not about his brother getting attacked and tackled Ganju into the ground with Naruto trying to break them up, which led to the current.

Kukaku felt several veins pop on her head as she marched at the two idiots.

"ENOUGH YOU THREE IDIOTS!" She shouted as she slugged all of them into the ground.

"I don't care what your deal is, but this stops right now!" She said with authority.

"But onee-sama-" Ganju began, only to get smacked with a roundhouse kick to his face. "You dare talk back to me?!"

"Holy shit." Ichigo and Naruto said in unison before they felt their heads being grabbed as they were lifted up to be at eye level with Kukaku's glare. And you punks, this is my home and if you don't like how I run it, then you can leave, got it?"

"Hai. We're sorry."

Kukaku tapped his head. "Good. So long as you understand."

"Your sister's scary," Ichigo muttered.

"Y-Yeah," Ganju replied

Naruto just groaned. "Dad really underplayed how vicious she can be," he said to himself.

'_Yep._' Was the unanimous answer of all his spirits.

Kukaku nodded as she turned to the group. "Alright, everyone."

The rest of the group flinched. "Y-Yes?"

The Shiba head then turned and walked out of the room and down the hallway. "Follow me this way."

The group followed Kukaku for a few minutes down the hallway until they reached a pair of double doors. She quickly slid them open to reveal a giant cylinder in the middle of the room wrapped in cloth.

"So what is this going to do?" Uryuu couldn't help but ask.

"This is how I am going to send you to the Soul Society," Kukaku explained with a smirk. "Through the sky!"

"THE SKY?!" Everyone exclaimed as Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko began rolling a wheel as the room began to shake and rise up as the ceiling opened up to reveal the sky above. The cloth around the cylinder unwrapped and fell to the ground to reveal that the cylinder was a large cannon.

"My name is Kukaku Shiba. I am a first-class fireworks master in this place."

And now the elder's fear makes total sense now. "Shit." Was the unanimous thought of the group.

"Are you amazed kids? This is my fireworks station!" Kukaku proclaimed.

"It's called the Kukaku Cannon!" Ganju commented.

**WHAM! **

"Who told you to come up here?!" Kukaku demanded as she slugged her brother.

"Sorry!" Ganju whined.

Uryuu was not exactly thrilled about their method of transportation and decided to speak up. "Quit screwing around! I don't care what kind of master technician you are. But are you insane trying to shoot us from that thing. We're sure to die-GAH!" The Quincy was cut from his musings as he was hit by a large orb the size of a basketball.

"Ohhhhhhh." Everyone winced in sympathy.

"That's gotta hurt," Tatsuki said.

"And leave a mark," Ichigo replied.

It was at that moment that Ichigo noticed what the orb that Uryuu was hit by. "Oh, a spirit orb."

Kukaku nodded. "Good at least you know that much. Now can you demonstrate it to everyone else?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure." The ginger head shinigami then focused his spiritual energy into the orb as it began to glow. Soon a transparent sphere enveloped his entire body.

"Wow." Nearly everyone said in unison. Naruto and Yoruichi looked on with proud smirks.

"I didn't think he would have that much control over spiritual power," Uryuu commented. He had seen how much spiritual power Ichigo wields, so it was rather surprising to see him having such control over that abundant power in just around two weeks.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "It was one of the first things Urahara and my brother focused on. They didn't want me to be walking around with a sword in its Shikai state all the time." He explained why he kept control of his sphere. He did NOT want a repeat of what happened the first time he had this stupid thing.

"Damn." Everyone said as they looked to see Naruto's smug grin. A few of them were considering maybe getting the blonde Kurosaki to train them once this was over.

Kukaku merely shrugged. Well, at least they made my job easier." She then turned to the rest of the group.

"Now then, the rest of you have some experience with your spiritual power right?" The group nodded. "Yes."

"Good. I expect all of you to practice with the orbs until they are at a passable level. If not, no dinner!"

Everyone flinched. "Gah!"

"No complaints, move it!" The group quickly nodded as they followed Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko to get their own spheres to work on.

"Hold on!" Naruto called out just as everyone left. He quickly walked up to Kukaku as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you want brat?" She asked.

"To give you this," Naruto replied as he took an envelope out of his pockets.

Now Kukaku was even more confused. "What's this a love letter?"

Ganju grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his cloak. "You dare try to seduce my sister?!"

**WHAM! **

Ganju was smacked into the ground by both an annoyed Kukaku and an embarrassed Naruto. "It's not a love letter!" Naruto shouted with a major blush on his face.

The blonde felt his eye twitch from the snickers he hears inside his head. '_Piss off all of you!_' That just seemed to make them all laugh in amusement. He sighed as he focused back on Kukaku. "It's just something I was told to deliver to you. You'll understand once you read it."

Kukaku looked skeptical but eventually nodded and took the letter. Naruto nodded as he turned and walked away.

"Weird kid," Kukaku commented as Ganju walked up to his sister. "Let's see…" Kukaku began as she took the letter out and began reading it with Ganju reading from her shoulder.

Eventually, both finished the letter with wide eyes. "HUH?!" Ganju gasped in shock and awe.

Kukaku snorted before laughing out loud. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! No wonder you two couldn't get along. So that resemblance wasn't a coincidence. Man if they told me this from the beginning I would have helped automatically."

Ganju still looked completely stunned. "Uncle Isshin is alive."

Kukaku then smacked her brother over her head. "Quit gawking and get down there!"

"Yes ma'am!" Ganju saluted as he rushed down.

Kukaku looked up to the stars with a wide smirk on her lips. "Huh! That bastard uncle gave us some cousins."

* * *

[Seireitei, A few hours later, Captain Meeting Hall]

"Damn this is a first-ever. Being ordered to wear an armband to a meeting." Renji muttered as he walked to the captain hall.

"Same here. This is a first for me too." Tetsuzaemon Iba, lieutenant of squad seven, said as he wrapped his badge.

"You think this about the possible invasion?" Shuhei Hisagai, lieutenant of squad nine, asked.

"You think a lot of us took that seriously?" Rangiku asked in a curious tone.

"After seeing one injure a Menos and then the brother destroying three of them, then there's that warning he gave to Kuichi-taicho and Renji here, it's hard not to believe they will in fact show. Plus there are the reports about what happened at the West Gate."

"I heard it was Ichimaru-taichou that went to investigate the noises at the West Gate."

Everyone flinched in sympathy. "Ouch." all of them said.

"Of all the captains to meet," Rangiku muttered.

"Do you believe they are still alive?" asked an unfamiliar voice. The group turned to see a dark-haired, fair-skinned female shinigami asked.

"Nemu?! This is rare to see you here. You usually show up with your captain."

"Mayuri-taicho went on ahead and told me to come with the other lieutenants." the quiet girl explained.

"Ken-chan would be pretty mad if they died before he got to fight them. It's all he's been talking about." Yachiru, lieutenant of squad 11, said cheerfully.

"I really hope those guys survived. I really wanted to meet that blonde Kurosaki boy." Rangiku commented with a smirk as a blush appeared on Momo's face.

"Are you seriously falling for this human you haven't met yet?" an incredulous Hisagi asked.

Rangiku tilted her head in confusion. "Now what makes you say that?"

Everyone merely sweatdropped at the response. "Considering you have been teasing Momo since we saw that recording and then calling him cute." Renji listed off.

The dark-haired blonde shrugged back. "It wasn't a lie." Hinamori's entire face was a fiery red. "Rangiku!"

"Alright, can we get back to business, please?" Nanao, the lieutenant of the squad of the eighth squad division, asked.

Everyone eventually calmed down a bit and nodded in agreement. "Renji?" Momo called out to her old friend.

"Hm?" he asked. "Have you seen Aizen-taicho?" she asked.

Renji paused as he thought how he should answer the question. He wasn't sure what to think of his conversation with Aizen in the storage room. He decided to keep that conversation a secret as he did not want to get Aizen for merely making observations and speculations on the odd situation they were.

'_Still._' Reni thought with a frown. '_The things he said. Why can't I get them out of my head._' Renji sighed before turning to look at Hinamori. "Nope. Haven't seen him all day."

Momo looked rather dejected. "He's been acting very strange lately. He won't tell me what's wrong. Plus he keeps going on his own somewhere and won't tell me about it." she said in a depressed tone.

Renji patted Momo on the head. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. He's probably busy with captain business that he can't involve you in. Let's just focus on the meeting." Right as Renji said, the lieutenants had reached the doors to the Captain Division Meeting Hall.

* * *

[Few Minutes Later; Captain Meeting Hall]

"We shall now begin this meeting," Yamamoto ordered as he looked at the individual of interest today. "Third Division Captain, Gin Ichimaru."

"Well this must be serious for all the captains and lieutenants to be called for little old me." the fox man replied in amusement.

"We heard you went after the intruders at the West Gate, but you didn't kill them," Yamamoto explained.

Gin titled his head in confusion. "Oh, they're still alive? My bad, they were tougher than I expected. Especially Naruto and Ichigo Kurosaki."

This perked everyone's interest. "What can you tell us," Shunsui asked.

"The Naruto boy managed to react to my attack before it could cut off Jidanbou's arm. He could switch weapons rather quickly. But the look he gave me was interesting. It was the same one that Captain Soifon gets on occasion. The look of an assassin."

This piqued the captain's interest. That would mean that Naruto was possibly trained by an assassin. The question was who as the number of assassins as good as the second squad captain is very small.

"Is there anything else to report, Ichimaru-taicho."

Gin shrugged. "They also knew who I was, my rank, and possibly my zanpakuto."

'So they really do have someone giving them information. But who could it be?' nearly everyone in the room thought.

"It was still sloppy for you not to make sure that they were dead." Ken[pachi chastised.

"Ara? Maybe I am losing my touch."

"Or maybe you let me get away on purpose." Mayuri accused in a curt tone.

"How dull. Here we go again" Toshiro sighed again.

Yamamoto slammed his cane to the floor and silenced the entire room. "Enough!" he bellowed out.

"You went ahead and acted without permission and failed to capture the targets. That is highly unusual for a captain. I wish to hear your explanations. Well, Ichimaru?"

Gin just stayed smiling the entire time. "I have nothing to say."

This caused everyone to look at him in confusion. Yamamoto raised an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me?"

"I screwed up. I made a mistake. I am not going to try to cover it up."

The head captain nodded. "Very well you shall be punished."

Aizen then decided to speak up. "Hold on, Ichimaru." Gin turned to the squad five captain. "Hm?"

"**INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INVADERS APPROACHING THE CITY!"**

Kenpachi began to gain a savage grin. "Intruders? Oh? So they really did keep their promise! Finally some excitement!" the squad eleven captain shouted as he rushed out the room with his lieutenant close behind.

"Kenpachi! Yachiru wait!" Unfortunately, it was too late as the two were already rushing to the location the intruders would enter into.

"Finally something interesting happens around here," Kenpachi said in excitement. "Are you gonna slice them up?

"Yup. If they can survive Ichimaru, I want to see them for myself!"

Back in the Captain Hall, Yamamoto merely sighed in annoyance. "It can't be helped. We shall postpone this meeting as well as Ichimaru's punishment. Return to your defense stations at once!"

All of the lieutenants quickly rushed out of the room to the ground zero of this impending invasion while the captains all quickly walked out of the room

"That alarm came at a rather perfect time for you." Aizen accused.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about." Gin replied.

"Do you think you can get away with what you did? You shouldn't underestimate me, Gin." Aizen left after those last words with Gin just smiling at his back. All the while Hitsugaya was just staring at the two of them in suspicion.

* * *

Creating the barrier for the cannon launcher was pretty simple and thanks to Ichigo's control, he was able to keep his power in check and not overwhelm everyone else. Though this was only the first step. Now came the next part. Actually getting in.

"We're about to crash with the barrier! It can't be helped. Emit spiritual energy as much as you can! Make the spirit ball as hard as can!" Yoruichi warned.

"Let's go, everyone!" Naruto ordered. "Right!"

* * *

**BOOM!**

The large magic sphere slammed into the barrier covering the Seireitei before exploding and six lights flew out into different directions of the Seireitei.

Kenpachi smirked. "There they go. Six different beams of light went into several different locations." Then tried to feel out their spiritual power. "Now which one is the strongest."

The Soul Society Invasion had officially begun.

* * *

_**There you have it. We have officially begun the most popular part of the Soul Society Arc, one of the most popular arcs in the Bleach manga/anime. Now I know this stuck close to cannon, but there weren't many differences that would occur with Naruto being there except for the more competent Ichigo and Kakaku learning that she has extended family.**_

_**I promise it will definitely heat up in the next chapter. Hope to see you then!**_


End file.
